


In the Eyes of Misfits

by TheWeatherOutside



Series: Long Live the Kings [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Blood, Creeper!Gavin, Fluff, Geoff Jack and Ryan do magic, Guard!Jeremy, Hurt/Comfort, Kings AU, M/M, Magic, Romance, Strangers to Lovers, Violence, Warrior!Michael, minecraft au, slowish burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 21:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 81,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21525256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeatherOutside/pseuds/TheWeatherOutside
Summary: When Gavin's village is attacked and destroyed by a king who wants his kind dead, he finds a fellow group of outsiders who are also just trying to get by in a world that doesn't want them in it. Together, they plan to take down the one person who has caused them all harm and cast them aside their entire lives.
Relationships: Gavin Free/Michael Jones, Jack Pattillo/Geoff Ramsey
Series: Long Live the Kings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1551406
Comments: 93
Kudos: 156





	1. A Different Start to a Similar Someone

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this story for close to a year now, and it's finally up! I was going to wait until I had finished it, but I couldn't wait any longer. I've got most of it done so hopefully it won't be too long until it's completed!
> 
> Also one thing to note is that this is just tagged as a Minecraft au because I've taken various things from AH's mc let's plays for this story. Other than that this story is set in it's own world that I've created.
> 
> I'll be updating this once a week, and once I've finished writing it it'll be updated twice a week. Enjoy!!!

_"There it is! Get it!"_

The guards were chasing him through the forest. He thought he would have lost them by now, but it seemed like luck just wasn't on his side today. This was more his terrain than theirs, though. He just had to be smart enough, and he would lose them not before long. He just needed to make sure that he didn't trip over.

He dodged through trees and jumped over roots, weaving around everything he could in the hope that the guards would soon lose his trail. After running for quite a while, he slowed down and chanced a quick glance behind himself to see if the guards were still following him. When he couldn't see anyone, he stopped and quickly pressed his back against the nearest tree, taking this chance to get his breath back.

He strained his ears to hear if anyone was approaching. After living in the forest all his life, he knew every sound, including that of footsteps against the grassy undergrowth. Which, after a few moments of listening, was exactly what he heard. He quickly drew an arrow from his quiver and nocked it, trying to be as quiet as possible so as to not give his position away.

He waited as the footsteps gradually got louder, the other person sounding as if they had slowed down to try and figure out where their victim went. When he was sure the person was about to walk right past his hiding spot, he jumped out from behind the tree and pointed his arrow right in the approaching guard's face.

It seemed like the guard hadn't been expecting him to be hiding on the other side of the tree, as he made a startled sound and stumbled back a step. He dropped his sword as he tripped over a root and fell backwards onto the ground.

He still had his arrow pointed at the guard as the guard held his hands up.

"Pl-please don't kill me! I have a family!"

He faltered and looked at the guard, confused, and he raised his eyebrow at the sudden change of the man's behaviour. Just a few moments ago he seemed ready to kill him.

"I-I never wanted to go after your people!" The guard continued. "I just had to because it's my job! I need the money!"

He lowered his bow slightly, still not quite sure whether to believe the guard. He didn't trust him, but the man did look quite terrified, and his hysterical begging might have suggested that he was telling the truth. If the guard _was_ telling the truth, then this may be his chance to get away before the other guards found out where he was.

He stared at the man a moment longer, and then lowered his bow to the ground. However, just as he was about to turn around to take off again, he saw the scared look on the man's face twist into an evil grin.

Alarmed, he was about to point his bow and arrow at the man again when he heard a twig snap. He whipped his head towards where the sound had come from, and saw another guard approaching him from his right. He looked around himself and saw that the guards had formed a circle around him and were drawing closer.

He mentally cursed himself for letting the guard distract him from his other attackers. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and found that the man on the ground had grabbed his sword and was about to lunge up at him.

In the moments he had before the sword reached him, he didn't have any time to think about what to do. Instinctively, he called upon his power, feeling the familiarity of it coursing through his body. He could hear the rumbling and static inside his head as it built up inside of him before what felt like an explosion leaving his body.

It was only a small blast. He didn't actually want to kill anyone, and he didn't exactly have much time to build up anything bigger even if he did want to. The blast sent the guards around him back several feet and they were knocked to the ground, dazed. He immediately turned around and sprinted off, not sure how long they would stay stunned for.

Although, he didn't make it that far before he ran straight into another person and knocked both of them to the ground.

* * *

Michael was making his way through the forest, not sure on his destination. He never was. It wasn't like he had anywhere to be anymore. Anywhere that he did go, people would take one look at him and alarm the authorities. It was like a game now; 'let's see how long it'll take to get kicked out of this town!'

He was actually just now coming from a small town that was not that far off from the main city. He knew it was risky being so close to the palace and practically on the doorstep of the one person who he wanted to be as far away from as possible, but he needed to pick up some supplies that would have resulted in too long of a journey if he went anywhere else.

He was only at the town for thirty minutes until he had to make his escape before the guards got to him. At least he got his supplies.

Now he was hiding out in the forest not too far off from the town, thinking about what his next move would be. He could go further up north? It'll be a lot colder, but at least the people there will be less likely to know who...what he was.

Sighing, he stood up from where he was taking a break at the base of a tree. He dusted off his pants and gathered up his things to continue on his journey. However, he paused in his movements when he heard a commotion coming from deeper in the forest.

Intrigued, he wandered towards where the sound was coming from, but he hesitated slightly when he heard what sounded like an explosion. Then, just as he took a step around a tree, he was suddenly tackled by a mass of green.

Michael grunted as he hit the floor, startled for a moment as to what just happened. The weight on top of him quickly scrambled off him and Michael sat up and felt, quite frankly, angry.

"Watch where you're going, asshole." He rubbed his head for a moment and focused on who- or what- was in front of him.

It only took a second of taking in the green-clad man to know what he was staring at. A creeper.

Said creeper was staring at him startled and panicked behind the scarf wrapped around the lower part of his face, and beneath the hood casting a shadow on the remaining parts of his face. Michael had never seen a creeper so close before. Actually, Michael had never seen a creeper ever, other than maybe once from very, very far away. There was a reason he never had any intention of being so close to one.

However, this one didn't seem to have any intention of blowing him up so badly that not even his sword would be left behind in the blast. No, this one just stared at him with eyes of a green he had never seen. Which was also strange, weren't creepers supposed to have solid black eyes? Maybe he was mistaken, but no, this creeper definitely had green eyes. Even under the shadow of his hood they seemed like they were glowing as they stared back at him.

Michael snapped out of his daze, realising that he was staring. "You're a-"

"It must have gone this way!" Michael was cut off as he heard yelling come from the same direction that he had heard the commotion before, and apparently from the same way that the creeper had just come from.

The creeper clambered to his feet, hastily looking around to decide on where to go. He seemed to make a decision as he looked up at the tree they were right next to. He threw the bow he was holding onto his back and started to climb the branches faster than should have been humanly possible.

Then again, he wasn't exactly a human.

Michael stood up and watched the creeper climb, wondering who the man was so desperately trying to hide from. "What are you do-"

The sounds of metal armour noisily clanging together reached his ears, and he had dealt with enough guards to know that that was exactly who was nearing. He looked towards the direction of the guards loudly approaching and back up the tree where the creeper had now almost reached the top.

 _Fuck it_ , he thought. He did not want to get caught today.

With his strength, it wasn't hard to get up to the first branch and then pull himself up the rest of the way almost as fast as the creeper. When he reached a point that seemed like it was the highest he could go, he stopped and looked up to see that the creeper was staring at him with a very confused look on his face. Michael was sure that underneath the scarf his mouth was hanging open.

Michael let out a light chuckle at the creeper's bewildered look. "What, you think I don't know how to climb a tree?"

The creeper somehow looked even more confused than before. It seemed as if he might say something, but any further conversation was cut off by the approaching clang of metal as the guards reached their hiding spot. They held their breaths as they watched the guards run straight past their tree, oblivious to the two men perched just above them.

They waited until the clashing of metal and raised voices had completely faded into the distance, and all that remained was the sound of the leaves rustling around them before they started to relax a little.

Almost as quickly as he had climbed up the tree, the creeper started to make his way back down to the ground. Michael hurried after him, not sure why he wanted to catch up to him so quickly.

As soon as they reached the ground, the creeper started to walk in the opposite direction to the way the guards went. He didn't know why, but suddenly Michael felt sad at the possibility of never seeing this man again, for him to just walk away without even saying a word.

"Hey, wait!"

The creeper stiffened at his words and stopped in his tracks.

Now that he'd stopped walking off, Michael had no idea what he wanted to say next. He didn't even know why he cared so much, just let them both go their separate ways, better than staying near a creeper long enough for it to blow him up.

Yet, this creeper seemed different to what he had learnt about them growing up, and something about his green eyes made Michael not want to let this man just walk away.

Michael scrambled for something to say, fearing that the man in front of him would take off again if he didn't say anything soon. "Um...why were those guards chasing you?"

At those words the creeper turned around to face him but continued to not say a word and just stared at him, a hint of that confusion from before creeping back onto his face.

Creepers could speak the same language as humans, right? He was pretty sure of it.

Michael tried again, this time sticking his hand out. "I'm Michael."

The creeper looked at his hand curiously before slowing taking the scarf off. The face behind it looked like that of any normal human. Just a man who looked similar to Michael's age, not of a monster who lurked in the forest and caused destruction wherever it went.

"Gavin," the creeper finally replied, but didn't shake his hand.

 _Way to leave me hanging_ , Michael thought as he dropped his hand back down to his side. At least the creeper had finally said something.

 _Gavin_. It was a nice name. Michael was surprised he had a name that other humans had, but then again Michael wasn't actually sure what he had been expecting. Just a jumbled mess of letters that made no sense?

"So, Gavin, you didn't answer my question before. Why were those guards chasing you?"

At his question, Gavin tensed up again and got the same panicked look on his face that he had when they first bumped into each other.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you care?"

"Um..." That was a good question. Why did Michael want to know anyways? "I guess it's something we have in common."

The scared look on Gavin's face faded a little.

"They want you too?"

"Of course!" Michael laughed. "I mean, look at me!" He gestured to himself, clad in his bear furs and his diamond sword.

That just made Gavin look even more confused. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"I'm...different." Michael struggled to find a way to explain why people would take one look at him and run for the hills. Why he would barely be in one place for a few minutes before he was running away himself so he wouldn't get caught. "People are scared of me. They fear what they don't understand. And _me_ they don't understand."

They stood in silence for a moment before it was broken by the quiet whisper of, "they attacked us."

Michael glanced up from where his gaze had drifted to the floor. Gavin was watching him with a look on his face that Michael couldn't quite read.

"What?"

"The guards. They came to our village. Attacked us, destroyed our homes. I don't know how many others got away." His voice drifted off at the end and he looked away.

"I'm sorry."

Gavin turned back to face him, looking shocked at what Michael had said. "Why?"

There was that question again, but this time Michael didn't have to think about the answer. He knew how people felt towards creepers. Knew it from the way people talked about them, how they were described in books. How they hid in the forest, away from civilisation.

"They attacked you because they fear you, right?" After a moment Gavin nodded. "I know that feeling."

Gavin watched him for a moment, seeming thoughtful, before a shy smile crept onto his face. "People fear what they don't understand?"

Michael gave him a small smile back.

"Yeah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Strap in because I'm already at like 70K words so far, so we've got a long way to go lads! See you next week!


	2. Scared and Defensive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, what do we do now?"
> 
> "Uh...we?"

Gavin didn't know why he stopped to talk to Michael. He knew he should have kept on walking. Ran until those guards were far away and he never had to see them again. How did he know that Michael wasn't the same? He could just be trying to distract him like before. Distract the dumb creeper until the guards came back to finish the job.

That didn't explain why Michael had followed him up the tree, though. He could have just alerted the guards to his hiding spot and then have been on his merry way, whilst the guards had their prey trapped above them with nowhere to go. Gavin knew it wasn't a good decision, climbing up that tree, but he had no doubt that the guards were going to catch him eventually if he kept running. He was already exhausted and using his power didn't help. Hiding had been his best option, and he had just hoped that Michael wouldn't rat him out.

Michael didn't seem like the guards chasing him either, and he seemed genuine when he said he was different. He certainly looked different.

He was wearing a coat made from a bear that Gavin had no doubt that Michael had killed himself, if the giant diamond sword on his back was anything to go by. He was wearing armour, but it wasn't like the shiny, loud, metallic armour of the guards. It was leather. Thin, but it did a good job at accentuating his figure. He was powerfully built, his arms looking muscular even beneath the cloak.

"So, what do we do now?"

Gavin was snapped out of his staring. He hoped Michael didn't notice. "Uh...we?"

"Yeah." Michael reached up to rub the back of his neck, seeming nervous. It was endearing, actually. Gavin hadn't met any humans before; did they all act like this? He hoped so. He hadn't known Michael long, but at least he hadn't tried to kill him yet. That was more than there was to say for the guards. "I figured that since we both have nowhere to go, we could stick together?"

Gavin was taken aback by that. "I do have somewhere to go." How could Michael think he didn't. "I need to go back to my village."

"You want to go back there?" Michael asked, shocked.

Gavin just nodded, unsure as to why Michael was surprised. It was his home.

"Do you not get it?" Michael paused, clearly waiting for Gavin to say something. Gavin wasn't sure what Michael expected him to say, that he 'got it'? He didn't even know what he was supposed to 'get.'

After Gavin's silence, Michael sighed. "When those guards don't find you, they're most likely going to head back to your village. They're expecting you to go back. I don't think they'll take too kindly to you getting away, they're not just going to let it go."

Oh. He hadn't thought of that. All he had been thinking about was-

"My people. I can't just not go back to them."

"You said you didn't even know if any got away. If they did, they'll likely be scattered around right now and _not_ in the one place you shouldn't be."

_If any got away_. Gavin flinched at the thought of being the only creeper left alive. Michael had a point, though. He shouldn't go back. Not right now. He needed to wait. He just didn't like the thought of being away from the one place he had known all his life.

Michael continued, "I know these types of people, okay? Trust me."

_Trust me._

A moment of silence passed, and then Gavin softly whispered, "okay."

* * *

"What should we do then?"

Michael had already asked that question, but he couldn't exactly blame Gavin for asking it as well. Not when he had showed that he didn't have an answer, other than to walk back into what Michael was sure would be his inevitable death.

"Well, we shouldn't stay here." Michael thought for a moment about where they could go. "So, the guards went that way." He pointed in the direction that he was fairly sure was west. "What way is your village?"

Gavin pointed in the opposite direction. East. The small town Michael was just at was south, and if he went back there he was sure he would be caught. Even if he wasn't, it wouldn't take long for them to notice a creeper, and then they wouldn't hesitate to try to and kill them. They wouldn't even get the benefit of being thrown into some dungeon beforehand.

"North it is then. We'll need to be careful in case those guards try and circle back to your village and cut straight through our path."

They started to make their way north. Michael found it quite ironic, what felt like only a few minutes before he had been contemplating about doing the exact same thing. Although, he didn't plan to have a creeper in tow.

Said creeper had pulled his scarf back over his face and had gone back to being quiet. Michael figured that he was just thinking about what had happened. Michael was sympathetic, he knew what it was like to be alone. But he had always been alone. He didn't know how it felt to have everyone you know be taken away from you.

Walking in silence felt kind of awkward. It wasn't like Michael wasn't used to walking in silence, being alone meant having no one to talk to after all, but having someone else by his side made the silence feel louder somehow.

Michael felt the need to start up a conversation. There was one thing that had been on his mind for a little while now.

"Why didn't you blow me up before?"

"Hmm?" Gavin looked like he had just been interrupted out of a deep thought and had barely heard what Michael said.

"Before. When you ran into me? You didn't blow me up."

"Oh. Yeah, I didn't. So?"

Michael looked at Gavin for a moment, who was staring down at the ground. With his hood casting a shadow on his face Michael couldn't see what his expression was, but he sounded distracted.

"Isn't that all what creepers want to do, though? Just blow shit up all day?"

At that Gavin snapped his head up to look at Michael.

"No," he scowled. "We don't."

Michael was startled by the sudden change of mood. "Well, that's what we've always been taught about you."

"You were taught wrong."

"Okay..." Michael thought he should back off as he didn't want to make Gavin upset, but he had never had the chance to talk to a creeper before. He was curious. "But all anyone knows about creepers is that if you get too close, you get blown up. People's homes have been destroyed by you guys! All we know is that you're reckless creatures, you cause destruction everywhere you go."

"It's not reckless. It's defensive."

Gavin was different to the impression Michael had built up of creepers over the years. He looked different, having the face of any normal human and an absence of hollow, black eyes. He acted different, seeming quiet and scared and not a horrifying monster. What Gavin was saying now made sense for the impression that he had made on Michael so far. After all, when Michael recalled hearing the explosion before, it made sense that it was Gavin defending himself against the guards, and not just because he thought it was fun. Still, it didn't make sense for what he already believed about creepers.

"I don't know why I didn't _'blow you up'_ ," Gavin said, emphasising when he quoted Michael. "I guess it's because you gave me no reason to."

Michael watched Gavin, and after a moment Gavin stared back. Michael chanced a small smile at him before he turned to look forward again, not wanting to walk straight into a tree.

"You said it yourself," Gavin continued, "about people fearing what they don't understand? They attack us when they're scared. At least, that's what we think? And when they try and hurt us..."

"You go kaboom?"

That made Gavin let out a light laugh. It was a nice sound. Slightly muffled by his scarf, but it made Michael's smile grow all the same.

"Yeah. We don't mean to destroy anything, but sometimes we have no choice."

Michael felt like he was finally understanding what Gavin was saying. He wasn't scary, he was scared. But so was everyone else, and so they painted a picture of a horrifying creature that lived in the woods because they wanted everyone else to be scared too.

They were walking in silence for a moment before Gavin spoke again. "Anyways, if you thought I wanted to hurt you, then why did you follow me up that tree?"

This time it was Michael's turn to laugh.

"Touché." Michael still didn't even know why himself. "Think I just wanted to change things up a little."

They continued on in a comfortable silence. After walking for what felt like a few hours, Michael was beginning to feel tired, and by the way that Gavin was dragging his feet Michael suspected that he was feeling the same. They hadn't come across the guards, which was a good sign. It had been long enough that Michael felt that they weren't going to see them anytime soon, so it was safe to rest for a little while.

"What do you say to a break?"

Gavin didn't even answer, he just sat straight down at the base of the closest tree with a relieved sigh. Michael chuckled and sat down at the base of the opposite tree. He adjusted his sword so he could lean back against the tree comfortably and tilted his head back to rest against the tree and closed his eyes for a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's pretty short but it's the shortest one I've written so far, so the story really picks up from here!


	3. Enchantingly So

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One or two more enter the gang...

Michael was woken up by a loud noise. He didn't mean to fall asleep, but clearly he had as when he opened his eyes it was almost dark outside. He looked around to try to find the source of the noise and panicked when he couldn't see Gavin.

"Gavin?"

His concern only grew when Gavin didn't reply straight away. Michael got to his feet and rubbed his eyes, stifling a yawn as he tried to figure out where the creeper had gone.

"Gavin!"

"What?"

Michael jumped a mile as he was startled by the voice that came from behind him. He put his hand to his chest as he was sure his heart was about to beat out of it any second and turned around to find the creeper standing right behind him.

"Way to scare the crap out of me!" Michael rubbed at his chest, beginning to feel slightly calmer. "Where the hell were you?"

To that, Gavin just pointed up at the tree.

"Why were you in the tree?"

"I prefer the tree," Gavin shrugged.

Michael sighed. How did he even get down from there without Michael hearing him? Sneaky bastard.

Michael was then reminded of why he woke up in the first place when another loud rumble resonated in the distance.

Thunder. Great. Now they needed to find some sort of shelter before they got soaked through from the rain. "Come on, we should-"

Michael was cut off by the sounds of low mumbling coming from a short distance away in the trees.

He quickly stuck his arm out to stop Gavin from moving and put his finger to his lips. He crept towards where the sounds were coming from as he slowly drew his sword from its sheath, fearing who it could be. Did those guards finally find them, or was it someone else, someone worse?

That question was answered when he rounded a tree, and found a man crouched in a bush, muttering to himself.

"Couldn't stay in your pen for one fucking night could ya."

He had his back turned to Michael, so he didn't see him or Gavin who had silently appeared at Michael's side again. From what Michael could see, he looked like any normal man, not a guard or someone you would typically find lurking around the woods.

"Where are you, you little rascal..."

What was this guy doing in the middle of the forest? And what the hell was he looking for?

_"Squawk!"_

"Ah!" Michael yelled as he was startled by the sound that came out of nowhere, and then froze when he realised that his noise had also alerted the man to their presence. If it wasn't for the damn chicken that came out of nowhere, he would have been fine. What was with things making him jump tonight, first Gavin and now this...wait, chicken?

Michael looked down to find the chicken sat by his feet looking up at him with golden eyes. In the quickly arriving darkness, the eyes were bright enough to look like tiny stars. Two glowing orbs that peered up at him curiously. If Michael looked close enough, it even looked like there were sparks of some sort of light in them. It reminded him of Gavin's eyes when they met, although those were not quite as bright. The chicken's feathers matched, most of them were the usual white, but some were a bright yellow and created zig-zag patterns across the chicken's back. It looked like lightning.

Michael had never seen anything like it before, and he suddenly wanted to reach out and touch this extraordinary creature and learn all of its secrets.

"Step away from the chicken."

Michael was shocked out of his trance, remembering the strange man standing in front of them. He was standing up now and looked at them warily. Now that he was facing them, Michael got a good look at his face, and what he saw made him gasp.

For the most part, the man looked like any ordinary guy. Dark hair, small beard, a slight muscular build. However, it was his eyes that caught Michael's attention.

His eyes were mismatched. One of them was blue and the other, his left eye, was grey.

People who had different coloured eyes were known for having magic, and whatever colour their left eye was signified what kind of powers they had. Michael never bothered to learn what each colour symbolised. He didn't see the point as he had never come across anyone like it before.

These people were called enchanters, and they were not liked by the king. He thought that they were dangerous, that they were freaks and had no place in this world. They were cast aside and forced into hiding. Any that were found were either captured or killed on sight.

That would explain why this man was out here alone in the middle of the forest. Michael felt somewhat cautious of this man and tightened the grip he had on his sword slightly. He didn't know what kind of powers this man had, or how trustworthy he was. He might not hesitate to try and attack them, especially considering Gavin was a creeper and Michael didn't really look like the kindest person with his sword pointed at this man.

Although, this man didn't exactly look like a dangerous person, not when just a few minutes ago he was crouched face-first in a bush, looking for a chicken. He actually looked like the least threatening person ever, now holding his chicken like it was the most precious thing in the world to him.

"What are you doing out here?" The man asked them cautiously.

"Uh, we were just passing through." Michael wanted to seem as unthreatening to this man as possible. He was prepared to fight if it came down to it, but the sword was where his skills laid. He wouldn't exactly be able to fight back if this man cast a spell on them or something.

The man just continued to stare at him for a moment, before he turned to look at Gavin. It seemed as if he had only just noticed there was a creeper in front of him as he took a step backwards. From what Michael could see of Gavin's face, he seemed hurt by it, but he didn't say anything. He just looked down at the ground.

"With a creeper? How are you even _with_ a creeper?"

At that, Gavin tensed up, and Michael could now recognise that it was because this man seemed to think that he was a dangerous creature. Just like everyone else.

"He's harmless-"

"Harmless? A creeper? You know what they can do, right?"

Michael felt the sudden desire to jump to Gavin's defence. He didn't know why, he had barely known Gavin a day, but he didn't like the idea of someone upsetting Gavin.

"Clearly I know more about them than you."

The man looked taken aback by that, and for a moment Michael was worried that he'd pissed him off. Great, now he was going to cast some spell and slit their throats. However, after a pause, the man just laughed.

"Clearly. I can't really say I know that much about them, seeing as I've never met one before. Which is quite ironic actually, seeing that I live in the forest and all."

Michael didn't know what to make of this guy's sudden friendly attitude. It wasn't typically the type of reaction that you would get from someone hiding out in the forest. Michael had dealt with these situations many times in the past. It was usually more of a kill or be killed type of situation. Afterall, most humans who hid in the forest were doing so because it was their last hope at staying alive.

At this point, anyone who Michael had previously met had usually threatened his life at least once, maybe twice by now. And they definitely had a weapon pointed at him, not a chicken. Michael was so thrown off by this man that he didn't know how to deal with him. Do they just go their separate ways now, just turn around and forget all about this? What if when they turn this man shows his true colours and kills them before they even make it two feet. Does Michael kill him now before he has that chance? He didn't feel comfortable attacking a man who had shown no hostility to him beforehand. Michael may have been a warrior, but he wasn't heartless.

He didn't have that much time to dwell on the situation, however, before it started raining. He had completely forgotten about looking for shelter, and even if they did find something now it wasn't going to be before they got soaked through.

"Come with me," the man suddenly said.

"What?" What was with this guy? They didn't even know him, and he expected them to follow him? No chance. "We're not going anywhere with you."

"Do you want to stand out here in the rain?"

"We're fine, thanks." He reached out to grab Gavin's arm to get him to follow. "Come on, Gav."

The man must have heard the hostility in his voice, as he just smiled before he said, "look, if I wanted you dead, I would have had the chicken do it already."

The man laughed at the bewilderment on their faces, before he continued. "You two clearly look like you have nowhere to go tonight." And what was that supposed to mean? "I have a house nearby. You can sleep there tonight, dry up, get some food in ya. You two look like you need it."

Gavin turned to look at Michael, undoubtedly expecting him to make the decision. Michael thought about it, weighing up the pros and cons. Worst case scenario, this man took them back to his house and killed them. Best case, they got a dry place to stay for the night. If they didn't go with this man, they risked staying out in the storm. They were already getting pretty drenched, and along with the coldness of the night he knew that that wasn't a better option. If this man _were_ to try anything, he still had his sword, and Gavin was a creeper. Michael knew that he would be able to defend himself if it came to it.

And with that, he made his decision.

"Okay. We'll come with you. But if you try anything, I won't hesitate to kill you."

"Right back at you." The man looked the most serious he had since they had first met him for a moment, but then the smile was back on his face. "Great! Let's go before we get any more soaked than we already are." He started to turn away, but stopped to add, "I'm Geoff, by the way."

* * *

They hadn't been walking for long until a small, wooden cottage appeared between the trees. It reminded Gavin of the houses from his village, although those had been smaller and were built up in the trees. This one even had a garden out the front! It was beautiful, Gavin had never even seen most of the plants that were growing in it. He wanted to spend days just learning about each of them and staring at all the pretty colours.

As they got closer to the house, the sounds of dozens of chickens could be heard. There was a chicken coop built onto the side of the house, and Gavin assumed that most of the chickens were hiding inside there away from the rain, as he could only see a few running around outside in their pen. The ones he could see were unlike any he had ever seen before. Like the one that Geoff was holding, these were of an assortment of colours and patterns. He hoped that the ones that were inside were similar, he wanted to know of all the different ways that they could look.

When they reached the house, Gavin walked up to the fence of the chicken's pen and peered over to have a closer look.

"Pretty cool, aren't they?"

Geoff had walked up next to Gavin and put the chicken he was holding into the pen, where it ran off with the rest of its feathery friends.

"How...?" Gavin was still trying to comprehend how this was even possible. Of course Gavin had seen chickens before, although they weren't the most prevalent animals in the middle of the forest, but as far as he was aware it wasn't common for them to look like this.

"I made them."

"You _made_ them?" Now Michael had come to join them at the pen.

"Well, I didn't exactly _make_ the chickens, they were just normal chickens who followed me into the forest. But I was the one who...I guess you could say, changed them." Gavin still wasn't sure what he meant by that, but he was pretty sure that Geoff felt proud about it, with the way he held his head up as he said it. "Anyway, we can talk more inside, I'm freezing my dick off out here."

They made their way through the gate that entered into the front garden and walked the short pathway through the flowers until they reached the front door. The front garden was lit up; there were lights all along the outer fence and dangling from the roof over the front of the house. They even lined up each side of the path so they knew where to step.

At first glance, Gavin thought they were ordinary lights, possibly really small lanterns. But at a closer look, he realised that they were small flowers, intwined together at the stem so that they created a string of lights. Each individual flower cast off a yellow hue, and it looked a bunch of fireflies had collected around the garden.

Each moment that Gavin was at this house he was more and more fascinated by it, and he had only been there for a couple of minutes.

"Honey, I'm home!" Geoff called out as he opened the front door. He held it open for Gavin and Michael to enter, and then closed it behind them.

When Gavin stepped through into the house, it was like the chill from his wet clothes had suddenly vanished. It was so warm and bright and colourful inside. Gavin let his gaze travel along the room that they were in, taking in every little detail. It was also filled with the light flowers from outside, although these ones were bigger and much brighter. On the left of the room there was a selection of comfortable looking chairs all gathered around a fireplace, which was already lit and raging with heat.

There were also shelves lining the walls filled with more books than Gavin had seen in his entire life, although that wasn't saying much, and there were a bunch of odd little trinkets laying around too. At the back of the room there were a few doors which Gavin assumed lead to other rooms in the cottage. On the right of the room, there was a small kitchen, and in the kitchen stood another man that Gavin had only just noticed.

He was tall like Geoff but had a bigger beard and lighter hair. He also had different coloured eyes, only his were brown and green. Gavin had been told about people like that. He knew it had something to do with magic, but he didn't really understand what it meant. Honestly, he didn't understand a lot about humans.

"I brought guests!" Geoff announced as he finished locking the door behind them and kicked his shoes off. "Found them wandering around the woods, didn't want them to drown in the rain or something."

When the man turned his attention to them, he had a cautious look on his face. Gavin grew worried that this man was going to be like everyone else and think that they were dangerous and kick them out, despite Geoff allowing them to stay.

Geoff also turned his attention to them. "This is Jack," he said as he pointed to the man standing in the kitchen, "and these are..." He trailed off as he realised that they had never given him their names.

Gavin pulled his hood and scarf off so they weren't covering his face. They were kind of unnecessary right now. Also, they were wet and with the warmth from the fire they just felt stuffy.

"I'm Gavin," he finally said.

"Michael," Michael added.

There was a pause where Gavin felt the worry of being kicked out increase. He did not want to step back outside right now. The thunder was still roaring overhead and he wouldn't be surprised if there was lightning out there as well. However, after a moment a wide smile broke out over Jack's face.

"Terrific! I just made enough dinner to fill a whole village and wondered what I was going to do with it all. You guys are more than welcome to have some!" He smiled and turned back to the food and started to dish it out onto some plates.

Next to them, Geoff was now trying to shrug his wet coat off. "You can take your wet clothes off and we'll put them by the fire to dry."

They kicked their boots off at the door like Geoff had done, and Gavin took off his scarf and cloak whilst Michael took off his coat. Geoff took them off of them and went to place them in front of the fireplace. Gavin also put his bow and quiver by his shoes, along with his small backpack. It didn't have much in it, only what he had time to grab before he fled his village. Michael also left his sword by the door. He seemed reluctant to do so but knew that it wouldn't exactly be good manners to wander around with a giant, diamond sword in a home where you were a guest.

They wandered over to the small, round table that Jack had placed the plates of food on. As he sat down, Gavin wondered how in the world he had ended up in this situation. He was sitting in a warm house with a freshly cooked meal in front of him, made by people who he had met barely half an hour ago, next to someone who, despite his thoughts on creepers, wanted to stick with Gavin until he could go home. Only just that morning he had barely made it out of his village and away from the men who wanted him dead.

Yeah, he truly didn't understand humans.

"Tuck in, there's more if you're still hungry!"

He didn't quite know what the food was, but it tasted better than anything he had ever had before. Gavin was sure that no creeper could cook as well as this. They ate in silence for a little while, and Gavin was so distracted by the delicious food that he barely heard Geoff as he began to speak.

"So how did you two end up wandering about the forest? I mean, I guess a creeper alone makes sense, but I've never heard about a human roaming about with one before."

"We ran into each other," Michael said with a laugh, although it was more like Gavin ran into him. "Saw we both had nowhere to go, and decided that it wouldn't be the worst idea if we stuck together."

Geoff started to nod, before he paused and turned to Gavin. "Wait, isn't there a creeper village not too far from here? Like, a day or two's journey away?"

Gavin felt the sadness wash over him as he remembered about that morning's events, and the possibility of how there was likely no longer a village left standing. "Yeah. Well, there was. It was attacked. This morning."

"What?" Gavin was sure than no voice should have been able to go as high as Geoff's just did. "By who?"

"Guards. From the palace, I think?" Gavin had never been to the palace, or even near it, so he wasn't totally sure that that's where they came from. But it made sense, Gavin was always aware of how much the king disliked his kind.

"Why?" Jack sounded concerned, and it reminded Gavin a little of when he first spoke to Michael. These people who he had just met, already so interested in things he himself didn't fully understand.

"I...don't know? It's not like we did anything to provoke it, or at least I don't think we did? It just happened. No warning."

"That's terrible!" Geoff slammed his hands against the table, and Gavin was sure the plates were going to fall off with the way they bounced from the force.

"Geoff-" Jack tried to calm Geoff down from his sudden outburst, but was cut off.

"No, that's not right! They can't do something like that!"

"It's fine." It wasn't, not really, but Gavin didn't want Geoff to get angry about something that wasn't his fault. There was nothing they could do about it now anyway.

"I'm tired of that son of a bitch, calling himself a _king_. All he wants to do is get rid of anyone who isn't like him. I'm sick of it. We need to do something about it!"

Jack sighed as he placed his hand on Geoff's shoulder. "I know, but there's nothing we _can_ do about it."

Geoff abruptly stood up after shovelling the last bits of his food in his mouth and went over to the stove to dish some more out onto his plate, mumbling about how he still wasn't happy with it. Jack stood up too and gestured to Michael and Gavin's now empty plates. "Would you like seconds?"

"Hell yeah!" Michael replied.

Jack chuckled "Gavin?"

"No, thank you. It was delicious though, thank you!" It really was, and he wished he could have more, but just one plate was more than enough to fill him right up.

"You're welcome! I'm just happy to share it with someone other than Mr. Grumpy Pants over there."

"Hey!" Geoff sounded annoyed, but he had a smile back on his face and seemed like he had calmed down.

Jack laughed as he picked up their plates. "I'll make some tea," he said to Gavin with a smile, and then went back to the kitchen.

"What about you Michael?" Jack asked a minute later as he came back with Michael's plate. "How did you end up with nowhere to go?"

"For as long as I can remember I've been moving around from place to place." He said around a mouthful of food. He paused to swallow, before he continued. "I've never really had a place of my own before."

"Not even when you were a child?" Jack asked.

"I was born in a really small town, never met my parents. Learnt to defend myself. Quickly discovered that I wasn't like most kids. I was stronger, don't know why. Maybe it's in my blood or something, but as I got older, people started to get scared. Thought I was going to hurt them or something, called me a freak. I left that town at a young age, I had no reason to stay. Everywhere I went after that people would still look at me in fear, so I've been wandering around from place to place ever since."

"That's sad." Gavin had stayed in the same place his entire life, which meant that he hadn't seen much of the world outside this forest. Michael had probably travelled to countless cities, had seen things Gavin had never even heard of, but at least Gavin had a place to live, a place that was his. Somewhere he knew he could go back to. Michael had never gotten to experience that.

"It's not too bad. Just been looking for the right place I could call home." Michael was staring right a Gavin when he said that, smiling and with a look on his face that Gavin couldn't read. They both watched each other for a moment, and Gavin let his gaze drift over the rest of Michael's face. The way small dimples appeared next to his smile, the light freckles across his nose. How his eyes that were staring straight back seemed to be reflecting the light. Gavin was so captured by him that he barely noticed Jack place the mug of tea in front of him.

"Oh, thank you!" Gavin quickly held the mug in his hands and let himself be distracted by the warmth it spread through his fingers and tried very hard to not think about Michael for a moment. He quietly sipped on it, enjoying the taste whilst Michael asked Jack and Geoff how they met.

"Well, we met when we were kids. We grew up in the same village, a little ways away from here. Not everyone there was like us." At that, Jack gestured up to his mismatched eyes. "But no one seemed to mind, a least not at first. Then the King brought out that law that any and all enchanters were to be captured."

Gavin vaguely remembered that being a rule. He didn't know much about enchanters, but he was slightly aware of hearing about how, like creepers, they were not welcomed.

"We were barely teenagers then, but we left the village before anyone there reported us. At some point we came out here, built this house, and have been here ever since. We have everything we need here. It's safe, no one ever comes out this deep into the forest. You two are actually the first people we've seen in a while."

"You built this house?" Michael had finished his second plate of food whilst Jack was talking and was now leaning back in his chair, seeming finally full.

"Yep! Well, actually Jack built most of it."

"It's very nice," Gavin spoke up from between sips of his tea.

"Thank you, I thought so too," Jack smiled at him from across the table.

They sat in a comfortable silence whilst they finished up their food and tea, and then Geoff yawned quite loudly.

"I think it's time to get some sleep," Jack said with a laugh. "Come on, I'll show you to your room."

They all got up from the table, and Michael and Gavin helped clear up the plates and mugs and took them to the kitchen. Jack lead them to the back of the room where there were three doors.

"This is the bathroom," he gestured to the door on the far right, "and your room is the one over there on the left. There's only one bed so I hope you two don't mind sharing." There was a hint of amusement in his voice, although Gavin wasn't quite sure why.

"Fine," Michael said. "But if your feet are too cold, I'm pushing you out the bed."

"Michael, no! Then I'll be even colder!"

"I guess you'll have to suffer then."

Jack just laughed at them before he added, "our room is right next to yours, in case you need anything."

"Thanks, Jack," Gavin was about to follow Michael into the room, when he paused and turned back to Jack. "Um, Jack?"

"Yeah?" Jack asked, sounding slightly concerned.

Gavin looked past him to where Geoff was busy washing up their plates. "Did I do something wrong before?" He didn't mean to make Geoff angry earlier, and he was worried that they would hate him for it.

Jack turned around to follow his gaze, before turning back to smile at Gavin, understanding on his face. "No. He's just very passionate about these things, he knows how you feel. Don't worry, you did nothing wrong," he assured.

Gavin wasn't entirely sure he was convinced, but he still smiled hesitantly up at Jack. "Okay. Goodnight, Jack!"

Jack returned the smile. "Night, Gavin."


	4. Flora and Fauna

When Gavin woke up the next morning, it was to the smell of something being freshly baked. He rolled over and saw that Michael's side of the bed was empty, and there was a brief second of panic when Gavin thought that he might have left in the night.

That panic was short-lived, however, as when Gavin climbed out of bed and made his way over to the door, he could hear conversation coming from the other side. And amongst that, Gavin heard the familiar, soft laugh of Michael. It made something inside Gavin feel warm as he opened the door.

"Look who's finally awake," Michael called from the table that they were sitting at the night before. Gavin didn't think that he had woken up that late, and he could see that the sun was still rising from outside the windows.

"Morning, Gavin," Jack was standing over something in the kitchen, but had turned around when Gavin had entered the room. "Would you like some breakfast? I just made some bread."

Gavin realised that that must have been what he had smelt earlier.

"Yes, please," he said as he went to sit down next to Michael.

A moment later there was a plate in front of each of them, filled with fresh bread, eggs, and some meat as well. Gavin was pretty sure he had never had this much food for breakfast. It smelt so good and he eagerly tucked in.

A few minutes into eating, Geoff emerged from his bedroom and slumped down at the table with them. He yawned as Jack silently placed a plate of food in front of him as well. He still had bed hair, which made Gavin smile, although seeing as Gavin got up not too long ago as well, he didn't think he looked much better.

They carried on eating their breakfast, which was even better than the dinner they ate last night. Gavin didn't think that was possible, actually he didn't think it was even possible to cook food that tasted half as good as this. It was unlike anything he had ever had before, and he was sad at the thought of having to say goodbye to it soon.

"Your clothes should be dry by now," Jack spoke up. It seemed he was thinking the same thing that Gavin was. With their clothes dry and the storm blown over outside, there was no reason for them to stay there any longer. Jack was probably just reminding them that it was time to leave now.

With the generosity and kindness of both Geoff and Jack, how they had given them warm meals and a dry place to stay, Gavin was reluctant to leave. Although, he knew that if they stayed any longer, they would be overstaying their welcome.

"If you guys would like to, we could take you out to the garden? Show you how we run things out here," Jack added, pulling Gavin from his thoughts.

That idea excited Gavin and made him forget about his worrying for a moment. He was intrigued the night before when he first saw the garden, it was unlike anything that Gavin even _thought_ was possible, and he was eager to learn all about it. It also meant that they could stay there for a bit longer, and so he enthusiastically agreed.

After they finished their breakfast, they got themselves ready for the day. Michael and Gavin collected their clothes from the fireplace and shoes by the door, all of which were now thankfully dry. Outside the sun began to peek out through the trees, but it was still quite damp and a little cold out, so Gavin put his scarf back on and pulled his cloak a little closer around himself.

When they went outside, Jack took Gavin over to the flowerbed out front.

There were flowers out there of every colour Gavin could think of, as well as colours that Gavin didn't think existed outside of this garden. They were a variety of sizes too; some were unnaturally big whilst others were so small you would barely notice it on its own. Gavin went over to crouch by some flowers that looked like the ones he had seen the night before- the ones that were so yellow and bright. But these were white and had no light coming from them.

"Those flowers there are called solabers." Jack had come to crouch next to him, and carefully thumbed the petals of the closest one.

"Why do these ones look so dull, when the others are so bright?" Gavin gestured to the yellow ones that were dotted all around the garden, but he frowned when he noticed that they were no longer emitting any light. They were still a bright yellow though, much brighter than these ones still in the ground.

"I use magic to enchant them so that they will absorb light. These ones are white right now because I haven't enchanted them yet. Once I have enchanted them, they turn yellow and then during the day they soak up the sunlight. Then, at night they cast out the light that they absorbed and kind of act like little lanterns. When the night's over they dim down again, so that they can save their light for the next night. I can do it to any of these flowers if I wanted to, but I use these ones in particular as the way the petals are long and spread out means that the light gets cast out wider and brighter. Some of them I even use magic on to grow bigger so that they can be brighter, like the ones that are inside."

Gavin recalled the big flowers that were dotted around inside the cottage. He found out they were also in the bedroom when he went in there the night before. Although, those ones were small like the ones out here and very dim, which made sense as they stayed glowing until the morning, and therefore were not too bright so that they could sleep.

"Here," Jack plucked the closest one out of the ground. "I'll show you."

Jack held the flower in one hand, whilst his other hovered over it. After a moment, a green light started to appear from his hand and spread from his fingers down to the flower. The green magic danced around the flower until the petals started to turn yellow, and then the flower started to glow. It was only a small amount of light, not much brighter than the other solaber flowers, as it was still only day.

"Here you go," Jack said as he held the flower out towards Gavin. "A gift, for you."

"Really?" Gavin couldn't remember the last time someone had given him a gift, let alone something so fascinating.

"Yeah," Jack smiled. "In case you need a light when it's dark."

Gavin carefully took the flower from Jack and held it in his own hands, not taking his eyes off it as he was still mesmerised by its transformation.

"Wow."

Jack chuckled, "Yeah, it's a pretty neat trick." Jack brushed some dirt off his hands as he leant forward to examine some of the other plants in the flowerbed. "It'll never die, and you don't need to worry about it losing its magic."

"So, is this what you do with your magic? Change these flowers?"

"Sort of. I can do all kinds of stuff with flowers and plants. See, my left eye is green, which means my magic is plant-based. I can do almost anything I want to do with plants, flowers, crops, pretty much anything that grows in the ground."

"Even trees?" Gavin tried to imagine Jack using his magic to make the trees turn yellow and light up the whole forest, or make them grow so big you could see for miles if you climbed them to the top.

"Yeah, if I wanted to. Although, they're a lot bigger and require a lot more magic, which can be quite draining, so I tend to stick to the little things."

Gavin could understand that. If he ever needed to use a lot of his power, he was left feeling exhausted afterwards. There was no point in using that much magic if it wasn't necessary.

"All I need is the soil that these plants grew in. The reason that I have such a variety is that Geoff and I had been travelling for a very long time before we came here. We went to a lot of places and came across so many different types of flowers. All I had to do was take some of the soil from which they grew and keep it in a vial until we got to here, where I planted them in the ground and used my magic to make them grow."

Gavin tilted his head in confusion, not fully understanding how Jack's magic worked. "Soil? Why just that?"

"I'm...not entirely sure why," Jack shrugged. "There's still a lot of unknown that comes with magic. I suspect that the soil has elements of the plants growing in it, whether that be through the contact with the roots or something else. My magic enhances these elements, and it is from this of which the plants grow from."

Gavin nodded, sort of seeing what Jack was getting at. It was still a lot of information to take in, he knew practically nothing about magic other than his own before he came here. It was all extremely fascinating, but also overwhelming.

After a moment, Jack continued. "I pretty much just stick to using my magic for making these plants grow and giving them something extra that'll be beneficial for us living out here. Like the solabers." Jack gestured to the flower that was still held tightly in Gavin's hands. "With them, we don't have to worry about finding the resources we would need for lanterns. Each of these flowers here has its own purpose that makes our lives a little easier out here. We even have a small farm around the side of the house that I grow some crops in." He pointed to the opposite side of the house to which the chicken coop was on. Gavin hadn't seen it yet, but he was sure the crops over there would be as big and healthy as these flowers out here.

"With mine and Geoff's powers," Jack continued, "we don't really need much else. We built up what we have here, and have been safe and secure since."

Gavin's face fell slightly at that, the thought of finding somewhere safe brought back the memory of what happened just the day before. He thought he had been safe in his little village, but apparently that hadn't been the case. He didn't want something like that happening to Geoff and Jack. They seemed to be very happy here, and Gavin wished that would never be taken away from them.

Although, something in what Jack had said made Gavin remember a question that had been burning his mind since the night before.

"What actually _is_ Geoff's power?"

"Why don't you ask me yourself."

Gavin jumped as he was startled by the voice that suddenly came from behind him. He whipped his head around to see Geoff standing right behind him.

Geoff laughed as he realised he had scared Gavin. "I came over to see if you wanted to help me out with the chickens. They're getting a bit out of hand and I don't think Michael is enough to get them under control."

Geoff turned around to show them Michael in the chicken pen trying to hold a pink-feathered chicken that was flapping its wings and trying to escape his hold. A grin broke out on Gavin's face as Michael started shouting obscenities as he struggled to keep a hold of the chicken. Gavin turned back to look at Jack, unsure if he wanted to stay and keep learning about Jack's powers or to go and help Geoff.

"Go on," Jack ushered. "Geoff clearly needs some help."

Jack smiled up at Geoff, and Gavin heard Geoff mumble, "alright, asshole," under his breath, but when Gavin looked back at him, he was smiling too.

Gavin tucked the solaber he was holding safely into one of his pockets, and got up to follow Geoff, brushing some dirt off of his knees as he went. Geoff held the gate into the pen open for Gavin, and when he stepped into the enclosure, he let out a small gasp at all the chickens running around.

The night before Gavin had only seen about three or four of them, but now he could count about a couple dozen of them running around. Each one was unique from the others, their feathers a variety of colours and magic flowing from all of them. There was even one that when Gavin looked close enough, he was sure the feathers were on fire.

Geoff moved past him and took the chicken out of Michael's hands, and it immediately calmed down in Geoff's hold.

"What the fuck?" Michael yelled as the chicken stopped flapping its wings and even tucked its little head into Geoff's arms.

"Sometimes you just need the magic touch," Geoff winked.

Gavin and Geoff laughed as Michael mumbled under his breath about how Geoff was cheating and turned and walked off to the other side of the pen.

"So!" Geoff put the chicken he was holding down and turned to Gavin with a smile. "Let me show you how I run things over here."

He took Gavin over to a chicken feeder that was right next to the coop. There were still a couple chickens eating out of it, but there wasn't much food in it, so Gavin assumed that the rest had already been fed.

A moment later Geoff confirmed his thought. "First things first, I feed the chickens their breakfast. Michael and I did this whilst you were over there with Jack, so that part's already been taken care of. The next step is the exciting bit."

Gavin was both curious and intrigued as he waited to find out what Geoff meant by that, hoping that it meant he would get to see Geoff use his magic.

Geoff kneeled down by one of the chickens who had just finished eating. Its feathers had a grey, metallic look to them. The morning sun caught a couple of them and reflected the light onto Gavin's face, and he had to put his hand up to stop it from shining into his eyes.

"This little lady is called Tallum," Geoff said as he rubbed the chicken under the chin.

"You've named all your chickens?" That would be a lot of names to remember, but Gavin kind of admired the commitment.

"'Course!" Geoff looked up at him, "they're part of the family!" Geoff paused and stared up at him for a couple of moments, seeming thoughtful, before his smile grew wider and he turned back to the chicken. "Watch this."

Geoff had one hand on either side of the chicken, or Tallum as Gavin recalled. There was a pause, and then a grey glow, a slightly lighter colour from that of Tallum's feathers, started to appear around Geoff's hands.

Gavin suddenly realised that it was Geoff's magic.

It was much like Jack's, except for the colour. The magic spread from Geoff's hands across the chicken's small body. When the grey glow had covered most of Tallum, the small animal abruptly ruffled her metallic feathers until a small pile of them fell to the floor with a soft _clink_.

Then, almost as quickly as they fell to the ground, the feathers began to twist and shift into another shape. A few seconds passed, and then what was once a pile of feathers became a pile of small chunks of metal.

"What..." Gavin was lost for words. Whatever he had expected Geoff's magic to be, he wasn't expecting this. Whatever _this_ actually was. Some kind of...transformation? With animals?

He kneeled down next to Geoff and picked up one of the small blocks of metal and held it close to examine it. It looked just like the feathers of Tallum, only now in a solid block. He never really had that much knowledge of metals, though, so he couldn't quite tell what kind it was.

"It's steel," Geoff said as if he knew what Gavin was thinking. He let Tallum go, but she lingered around them, pecking lightly at the seeds she could find buried in the grass.

"A lot of the time the feathers just fall off naturally, but this way is quicker. Plus, you wanted to know what my power was. There you go. Well, that's part of it anyway."

Gavin looked up from the steel chunk he was holding, slightly amazed. "Part of it?"

"Yeah. In some ways it's similar to Jack's power, which I assume he told you about?" At Gavin's nod he continued. "Well, in the way that his is with plants, mine is with animals. I can enchant animals with my magic and give them each their own abilities. Last night I mentioned that I made these chickens into what they are today."

A lot had happened the day before, but Gavin could vaguely remember Geoff mentioning something like that when they had reached the house last night.

"When these chickens followed me out here, they were just like any other chickens you would find on a regular farm, but I enchanted them, changed them in a way that would help us with living out here. Like Tallum." He gestured to the metal-feathered chicken who had given up searching the grass for food and instead had decided to go bother Michael on the other side of the pen. "She produces metal for us, which we can use for crafting and building purposes. Most of the abilities I've given these chickens are like that- through their feathers they can make us materials that we can use. Others have different abilities, like-"

Gavin yelped as his had that was resting on the grass received a small shock. He looked down to find the chicken from the night before, the one who Geoff had gone out to find, pecking at his fingers. Its little electric eyes peered up at him.

Geoff chuckled as Gavin lifted his hand to rub at the slightly numb feeling the chicken had left.

"Like Spark here. She's like a small thunderstorm, which is why she likes to escape her pen and wander around and get lost in the forest during a storm." Geoff gave the chicken a glare, like a parent telling off their child. "I don't really know how useful she can be for us, but I think she's pretty cool. She can deliver shocks as big as lightning, or just little zaps."

As if to prove his point, a short zap sound came from next to Gavin as Spark let off another small shock. Gavin was sure he could see the static moving through the chicken's feathers.

Gavin scooted a little to the side, so he was slightly further away from the chicken. She didn't look that intimidating, but Gavin was sure Geoff wasn't joking when he said the shocks could be like lightning.

Geoff just laughed when he saw Gavin moving. "Don't worry, I won't let her hurt you," he assured, but then his face turned serious. "Although, I can't be sure she won't go for you when I turn my back."

Gavin blanched, ready to put as much distance between himself and the chicken as he could. After a moment though, Geoff started laughing again and Gavin realised that he was just joking. He started to laugh himself, although he absent-mindedly thought that with the way the chicken was staring up at him, he wouldn't have been surprised if there was a hint of truth in what Geoff had said.

When their laughing started to die down, Gavin thought about what Geoff had been saying about his powers. There was something in what he said that stood out to him, something that Gavin recalled Geoff mentioning the night before.

"The chickens. They 'followed' you here?"

"Yeah. There are ways in which my magic is different to Jack's. I can't make animals grow like Jack can with plants- there are more limits that come with magic and actual living creatures. I can, however, make them follow my orders, in a way. It's like our minds are connected, I think through my magic. I can tell them to do things, to go places, and they follow my command. At least, most of the time they do." At this he glared at Spark again. "But sometimes they just follow me any way, like they're drawn to me, or my magic. There were a number of different animals that followed me out here, actually, but I only kept the chickens as they are _much_ easier to take care of."

Gavin listened intently to everything Geoff said. Today he had learnt more about magic than he had ever known about, and it was thoroughly interesting to hear about the world outside his little village. He knew there were people with powers other than his own, but he had never met them before. He had always wanted to. Wanted to learn about all the things that other people could do, but there was a small part of him that was scared. Maybe the other people who had powers wanted to use them for something bad.

Coming here had showed him that, although that could still be true, Geoff and Jack were far from wanting to do something evil with their magic. They probably had the ability to do all kinds of harmful things with their powers, but they didn't. All they wanted to do with it was make their own lives slightly easier. It was something they needed to do, after all they hid out here _because_ they had magic.

Gavin was snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden small weight on his legs. He looked down to find that Spark had climbed onto his lap, and she was looking up at him expectantly, like she wanted him to pet her. He slowly lowered his hand until it was close to the chicken's body, but was hesitant to touch her, fearing that she was just going to electrocute him.

However, after a few moments of his hand hovering over Spark, she lifted her head to rub up against his hand instead. Several seconds passed before Gavin felt assured that this wasn't a trap for him to get zapped, and he started to stroke her back.

He felt his heart warm when she nuzzled her head into his hand, and he cooed softly as she tucked her small body into his lap and her eyes started to slowly close.

"Aww, c'mon," Michael appeared next to them and sat down on the grass as well. "Really?" He gestured to the chicken curled up on Gavin.

Gavin just shrugged and laughed as Michael reached out to pet the chicken as well, only for her to open her eyes and shy away from him.

"I give up," Michael huffed and crossed his arms, looking kind of like a sulking child, which just made Gavin laugh harder.

"Looks like you've settled in here nicely," Geoff said. "Well, somewhat," he added at Michael's glare.

"The chickens warming up to you, then?" Jack asked as he entered the gate into the pen and walked over to join them on the ground.

"They don't like Michael," Gavin answered, amused.

"Whatever, it's not like I care anyway." The look on his face told Gavin that he actually cared quite a lot.

Jack laughed. "That's probably at least better than the time they met Ryan."

"Yeah. Well, maybe he shouldn't have tried to use his magic on them. He had it coming," Geoff replied.

"Who's Ryan?" Gavin tried to remember if they had mentioned this 'Ryan' before, but he had no recollection of it. Were they a friend of Geoff and Jack? Another enchanter? Did he also live deep in these woods? Was he a bad person, or just as sweet as Geoff and Jack?

Jack and Geoff shared a look, and Gavin began to feel increasingly worried about this Ryan guy.

"That's actually something we wanted to talk to you two about," Geoff began. "We were thinking about what you two said last night."

"What about what we said?" Michael uncrossed his arms and sat up a little straighter, his brow furrowing.

"About how you have nowhere to go, Michael." Geoff then turned to Gavin, his voice growing sympathetic. "And about what happened to your home, Gavin."

Gavin felt a sadness begin to wash over him as he was reminded about the events of the day before, but then that sadness was replaced by guilt.

Being out here in Geoff and Jack's garden, learning about their magic, had made him forget about his troubles for a little while. Now he was reminded about what had happened, he felt remorseful that he hadn't been back to his village yet. That he had had somewhere dry to stay with the most compassionate company, whilst the other creepers were probably alone, cold, scared, _dead_.

He had tried to not think of the possibility of any of them actually being _gone_. That was just being naive, though. Gavin was smart enough to know that not everyone had made it out like he had.

"We want to help," Geoff said, and quickly continued before either of them could ask why. "It's not fair that this has happened to you, to us. I love it out here, but I'm tired of being forced to hide. Tired of people getting hurt just because they were born different. That asshole of a king has no idea what it's like for people like us. This sort of stuff has been going on too long, it's time something was finally done about it."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Michael asked, his brow furrowing even further.

"I'm not sure yet. I think Ryan can help us, though. He's also an enchanter. He's good with stuff like this and doesn't live too far away. If I send a message to him soon, he'll be here before the end of tomorrow."

"Are you even sure that he'll want to come and help with some elaborate plan?" Michael looked like he thought Geoff was the most foolish person on the planet right now, but there was a hint of something else in his voice, like he was actually considering what Geoff had said.

"He'll come." Geoff sounded sure enough that Gavin believed he had known Ryan for a while, and was probably quite close to him, but the fact that neither he nor Jack had brought him up before now still made Gavin feel a bit wary about him.

"In the meantime, we think you two should stay here," Jack added. "It's better than being out there."

As much as Gavin had enjoyed his time here, he certainly didn't want to overstay his welcome. He just felt like a burden, someone who Geoff and Jack felt sorry for and only asked him to stay because they felt bad and were so sweet and kind, not because they actually wanted him there.

Jack seemed to sense his apprehension as he continued. "Don't worry, we have plenty of room and food for you guys. Besides, it makes sense for us to all to be in once place if we want to do something about this."

"So, are you two in?" Geoff asked, sounding a little hopeful.

Gavin didn't even know how he felt about this. It sounded stupid, dangerous. Going against the king in any way was sure to get them killed. However, what if they just sat around and did nothing, like all they've been doing so far? Gavin had almost been killed just the day before. Doing nothing apparently wasn't a safe option, either.

"Are you sure that we can actually do something?" Gavin asked, which was the first thing he had said since this conversation started.

"No," Geoff said, sounding a little solemn. "But do we really have anything else to lose at this point?”

Geoff had voiced just what Gavin had been thinking. Was trying to make a change the worst thing they could do at that point? Maybe. Afterall, they weren't dead yet, and this was definitely a death wish, but if they didn't do this, they would just be left living in fear of one day being killed for who they are anyway.

Gavin thought about it for a few more moments, but he knew he had already made his decision.

"I'm in."

Gavin and Michael spent the rest of the day helping Geoff and Jack out around the cottage. They helped take care of the chickens and the garden. They even got to see Jack's farm, and the crops there were just as big as Gavin had been expecting, maybe even bigger. They learnt more about Geoff and Jack's magic, and Gavin also told them a little bit about his own power.

Geoff sent his message to Ryan, which Gavin found out involved him calling a crow over and attaching a piece of paper to its leg before he sent it away. They didn't have any more discussions about what they were actually going to do about this. They wanted to wait for Ryan before they came up with any plan.

In the evening, they had a dinner that was just as nice as the one from the night before, and afterwards they even sat around the fireplace place on the comfortable sofas and just relaxed for a bit. When they retired for the night, Gavin went back into the familiar room that was now claimed by Michael and him, with Michael threatening to push him out of the bed again on the way.

When Gavin laid in bed that night, he stayed awake for a bit wondering about what this Ryan guy might be like, and whether he would actually help them or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no intention of writing simple farmer Geoff, yet it happened anyway


	5. Seeing Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Anyways, that's enough about me. I have a plan about what we're going to do about this situation."
> 
> "You have a plan? What is it?" Geoff eagerly leaned forward in his chair.
> 
> "We need to kill the king."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao I ALMOST forgot to post this today! Still got it in on time though!

For the most part, the next day went by pretty much just like the one before. Michael and Gavin woke up to another delicious breakfast, this time made by Geoff, who they found out could cook just as amazing as Jack. Maybe even better, although they wouldn't have admitted that.

They helped out in the garden and with the chickens again, and it wasn't until after lunch when the day changed.

Michael was inside the house, specifically in the kitchen. He was putting away some of the vegetables that they had harvested that morning from the farm, when voices began to drift in from one of the open windows at the front of the house. It didn't sound like the usual chatter that he would hear coming from the others as they worked. These voices were louder, higher, like they were happy but surprised, and Michael could hear a voice that he didn't recognise.

He went out the front door to investigate and found what the source of all the noise was.

Standing at the end of the path that lead from the house was a man in a long, dark cloak. Geoff and Jack had already reached him, and they were both giving him a hug. Their friendly demeaner indicated that this was probably that Ryan who they had talked about. Gavin was standing near Michael, by the flowerbed, also curiously watching the exchange at the end of the garden.

"You're here earlier than I thought you would be." Jack was no longer hugging Ryan, but he still had his hands lingering on his shoulders and his eyes were scanning him, like he was checking him over. "I thought you'd get here tonight."

"I left before sunrise this morning. I wanted to get here as quickly as I could."

"Ryan," Geoff said, confirming that this was indeed their friend who they had invited. He pointed over to where Michael and Gavin were standing. "This is Michael and Gavin, the ones who I mentioned in my letter. Michael and Gavin, meet Ryan."

Ryan looked over at them for first time since he had arrived, and that was when Michael got a good look at him.

He was dressed entirely in black, with specs of red dotted around his clothes. Crimson lines that created patterns over his shirt with a red trim over the edges of his cloak. He looked a little older, about Geoff and Jack's age. Although, there was something in particular about the way he looked that took Michael's attention.

"I thought you said he was an enchanter. He doesn't look like one." There was one thing that made enchanters different from everyone else, one thing that indicated that to others of what they were, other than their magic. It was their different coloured eyes, and yet, Ryan's were both the same shade of blue.

Geoff seemed to know exactly what he was referring to, as he only glanced at Ryan briefly before he turned back to them and replied. "Ryan is sort of a different kind of enchanter. His powers differ slightly to ours, so his eyes don't look like ours either."

"Different how?" Michael asked cautiously, turning to Gavin briefly to see he had the same wary look.

Ryan simply stared at him, a small grin creeping onto his face. "Different like this."

After a moment of Ryan just staring at him, Michael grew confused. He was waiting for Ryan to wave his arms about or move his hands, for some sort of magic to flow from him like Geoff and Jack's, but he just continued to stand there, barely moving. Michael began to feel annoyed, why was this guy here if he wasn't going to do anything. All he had done so far was stand there with a creepy smile. They didn't have time for this. Was this guy even an enchanter? Why did Geoff and Jack bring him out here if he was just going to do nothing. They were probably lying about wanting to help them. It was probably just an elaborate plan to coax Michael and Gavin out here and do... _whatever_ it was that they wanted to do to them.

Michael's annoyance soon developed into anger, a white-hot rage coming over him. He was regretting the fact that he left his sword indoors, so badly wanting to use it now.

He didn't really need his sword to fight anyway. He still had his strength, and he felt the sudden want to punch something. He was ready to throw himself at one of the three men in front of him, but then almost as abruptly as he grew angry, he felt a calmness wash over him.

It felt like a switch turning back on in his brain, like he was just snapped out of a daze and his mind was waking up. He was aware of all the emotions he was just feeling, but it was like he was re-entering his body. Like everything he had just been thinking was beyond his control, even though in the moment it felt like it was all his own doing.

Michael blinked a few times, coming back to his senses, and looked up to see Ryan again. The man hadn't moved from his stand, that smile still on his face. The only difference now was that both of his eyes were glowing red. Michael took a moment to catch his breath as Ryan's eyes slowly faded back to normal.

"What was that?"

"My magic," Ryan simply responded.

Michael just glared at him, unamused at his condescending attitude. Ryan knew that wasn't what he meant. He continued to scowl at Ryan, waiting for him to actually give him an answer.

Michael was so busy glaring at Ryan that he almost didn't notice Gavin shuffle a little closer to Michael. Out of the corner of his eye, Michael noticed that he was casting a slightly fearful look towards Ryan, and Michael suspected that whatever it was that Ryan just did to Michael, he also did the same to Gavin.

After a few moments of the stalemate between Michael and Ryan, one smiling and one scowling, Ryan finally shifted. His posture relaxed a bit from his stiff stance, and he chuckled lightly.

"You didn't mention in your letter how feisty this one was." Ryan turned to Geoff, but Michael continued to stare at him, feeling the annoyance for this man come back. Although, this time he was sure it was his own feelings, not whatever Ryan had fabricated in his mind.

"If I mentioned anything about what I've learnt about these two in my brief time with them, I'd probably still be writing the letter," Geoff laughed. He then started to make his way up the path to the house. "Come on, let's all get comfortable inside and you can tell them more about your magic, and any ideas you have about fixing this mess."

They all settled on the chairs around the fireplace. Michael and Gavin were on sofa, Geoff and Jack on the chair opposite them, with Ryan on one of the singular armchairs by himself. Ryan sipped on his tea that Jack had made for him before he delved into his explanation.

"The way my magic works is different from most enchanters. I can't use my magic to impact something so that it has any long-lasting effects or changes it permanently, and it only really works on humans, as I have come to learn."

This earned him a glare from Geoff, and a guilty look appeared on Ryan's face, which was the first time Michael had seen him falter from his assertive, controlled demeaner. Michael suspected this had something to do with Geoff mentioning the day before about Ryan using his magic on his chickens.

"To put it briefly, with my magic I can change people's emotions and control their actions. What I did outside was an example of part of what I am capable of."

"Wait, you can _control_ people's actions?" Michael did not like the sound of that. Controlling their emotions was one thing, but their actions as well? What was to say he wouldn't just turn on them, get them to do whatever it was that this creepy guy enjoyed. Probably take them back to whatever dark hole he came out of and experiment on them. Ryan was just giving him more and more reasons as to why Michael shouldn't trust him.

Then again, he guessed it was better to have the guy on their side than be the enemy, even if that did mean being in the same house as a man who could control their every action and emotion.

"Yes, I can, within reason. I can only do it to a few people at a time, and I can only get them to do small tasks, nothing too heinous. I'd show you another example, but I get the feeling you didn't particularly enjoy my last demonstration." Ryan smiled, which made Michael scowl.

"Anyways, that's enough about me. I have a plan about what we're going to do about this situation."

"You have a plan? What is it?" Geoff eagerly leaned forward in his chair.

"We need to kill the king."

"What?" Geoff cried, eyebrows raised and shock and confusion on his face.

"You couldn't seriously be thinking we do anything else? He's the problem here. Without him, there is no problem."

"But he's the _king_ , it'll be impossible!"

"Well, what else do you suggest we do to stop this?" Ryan leant forward to place his now empty mug of tea on the coffee table that was in the centre of their circle of chairs. "Have a friendly meeting with him and say 'hey, could you change the laws, be a little nicer?'"

Geoff threw his arms up. "I don't know, that's why I needed you! This seems like a little much though, right?"

Jack leant over and put a hand on Geoff's arm. "I hate to say it, but he has a point, Geoff. If you want things to change now, is there really anything else we can do?"

"And what's to say once he's dead another dickhead won't take over and do the exact same thing," Michael finally spoke up. He wasn't too sure if he agreed with this or not, but Jack was right. Ryan did have a point...

Ryan leant back in his chair. "You seem to have forgotten that the king has no heir to the throne."

That was true. The king had not been remarried since his wife died several years ago, which was before they had the chance to have any children. For some reason, the king hadn't decided to make anyone else his heir.

"You may also not be aware of the long-forgotten law that when there is no heir, whoever kills the king takes over the throne."

They all turned to look at Ryan in shock.

"What? How long has that been a rule?" Michael was sure he had never heard of that before. Then again, it's not like he spoke to a lot of people. Still, it seemed like something that wouldn't exactly go unknown.

"For as long as the throne has existed, that law has been in place. Not many people are aware of its existence because this is the first time in a long while there has been no heir. Many monarchs in the past have tried to bury any remnants that the law exists. They did it so well that over time people have forgotten of it altogether, but I have collected a lot of resources over the years and have managed to trace some back to when the throne first came to be."

"If they wanted people to forget the law so bad, why didn't they just erase it altogether? They're the ones that make the laws!"

"I don't know exactly how the monarchy works, but I don't think it's as easy as that. It seems as though when that law was passed, it wasn't just brought in by the throne, but was also voted on by the public. The only way those types of laws can be changed, is for the public to vote on it again. However, to do that the law would need to be known by everyone. It seems as though it was too much of risk to tell everyone about the law and hope they voted to remove it and not turn against whoever was on the throne at the time, than to just hope that no one remembered it existed in the first place."

"Aren't there laws on _murder_ , though? All well becoming king if you get locked up straight afterwards."

"This law overrides that," Ryan shrugged. "It's pretty much the only time it _is_ legal."

Ryan paused for them all to take in what he had said. Killing the king seemed like something dangerous and way out of their league. Sure, Michael was a warrior, he was used to fighting, and Gavin being a creeper meant that he was probably used to at least defending himself, even if there was a chance he had never attacked anyone before.

Michael didn't know much about Geoff, Jack, and especially Ryan to know how experienced they were in this area, but even if they were, killing the king was on a whole other level. Getting to the palace would be hard enough already, but each of them were so discernible that they wouldn't even make it into the city that surrounded the palace before they were caught.

But...when Michael agreed to all this, he did know that whatever they did was going to be risky, dangerous even. It may be a plan that was near hopeless, but it wasn't impossible. They all had their own abilities that would come in handy if they were going to go through with this plan.

Geoff was the one to break them all from their thoughts, voicing just what Michael had been thinking. "How do you propose we do this then, Ryan? None of us have done anything like this before, at least I don't think anyone has." For a brief moment his eyes flickered over to Michael and Gavin before turning back to Ryan. Michael couldn't exactly blame him; they did only just meet not too long ago. "And it's not like it's going to be as easy as walking into the palace, killing the guy, and then walking out as if nothing has happened."

"That's something I haven't quite worked out yet." Ryan leant forward again, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. "I've only spent a brief amount of time in Ozryon, so I don't know that much about it."

"Ozryon?" Gavin spoke up for the first time since they had sat down. He had been quite quiet, and Michael was curious to know what he thought of all of this.

"Ozryon is the city that the palace resides in. The whole place is surrounded by a huge stone wall, with guards all over the place. To get to the palace you need to get through the city gates, and then walk all the way through the city to reach the palace which is on the other side."

He turned to address all of them. "Have any of you actually been to Ozryon?" At the shakes of their heads Ryan sighed. "We can't really form a plan of how to do this when we don't even have any knowledge of the place we need to be at."

Ryan lifted his hands to rub his chin whilst he thought for a moment. "We're going to need to scout the city out," he said, voice somewhat muffled by his hands slightly covering his mouth.

"How? You might look like any other civilian when you're not using your powers, but we're not even going to get one foot in there before they know who we are." Geoff gestured up to his and Jack's eyes.

"I know, but not everyone here has that problem." Ryan sat up and turned towards Michael and Gavin.

"Don't look at me," Michael huffed. "The king knows exactly who I am, and so do the guards. I've spent enough time running away from them that by now they recognise me wherever I go."

"Gavin?" Ryan was solely looking at Gavin now.

Michael was confused, was Ryan serious? Michael opened his mouth so say something, but Gavin beat him to it.

"Me? You _do_ know what I look like, right?" Gavin also seemed baffled by Ryan's proposal.

"Yes, but your appearance is the only one that we can change." At Gavin's look of confusion, he continued. "Creepers are recognisable by their attire, right? If we change your clothes, then no one will know who you are. Will anyone recognise your face?"

After a moment, Gavin shook his head hesitantly.

"Then you and I should go and visit Ozryon and see if we can find out anything that will be useful to know. Does that sound good with you?"

Gavin was quiet for a moment, like he was thinking about it, before he replied. "Okay, that sounds good with me."

"Alright! Well, now that we have some sort of plan, I'm starving." Ryan looked over at Jack and Geoff hopefully.

"I could do with some food now, too. We can discuss this plan more later, let's have dinner." Geoff got up and headed over to the kitchen. Jack and Ryan got up after him and went to help make the food, so all that was left by the slowly dying fire was Michael and Gavin.

Michael looked over to Gavin, who was sitting there silently. As Michael thought about it, Gavin hadn't said much throughout that whole conversation. Michael didn't know how Gavin felt about this whole plan, was he comfortable with killing the king? He agreed to Ryan's plan of scoping out the city, but his quiet attitude meant that Michael didn't know what he was actually thinking. Did he just say yes to it because he felt like he had to?

Michael stood up from his chair and turned to Gavin. He put his hand out as he said, "come with me, I want to talk to you."

Gavin looked at him startled for a moment, but then a small smile appeared on his face as he took Michael's hand. Michael tried to ignore how he felt his cheeks blush at holding Gavin hand, and the way that Gavin kept staring at their hands together as he led them into their bedroom.

The sun was beginning to set outside, but there was still a bit of light being cast into the room. Along with Jack's light flowers strung up, the room was quite well lit as they walked in. Michael closed the door behind them and turned to face Gavin.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Gavin asked as he went to sit down on the edge of the bed.

Michael cut straight to why he brought them in there. "What do you think of Ryan?"

Gavin looked up to Michael seeming shocked, like he wasn't expecting that to be what Michael wanted to talk about, but then he just shrugged.

Michael sighed as he moved to stand closer to Gavin. "C'mon Gav, I want an actual answer here."

"I don't know? He seems smart, he has a plan."

"Do you like his plan?"

Gavin went quiet again, hesitant, like he had something to say but wasn't quite sure if he wanted to say it. Michael waited patiently for him until he finally answered.

"It seems really dangerous and almost impossible." Michael felt himself relax slightly now that he knew how Gavin finally felt. He was about to say something, but Gavin continued. "But, is there really anything else we can do?"

"We don't have to do this at all," Michael replied as he crossed his arms.

"You want to though." Gavin cast him a knowing look, and Michael could only hold his gaze for a few moments before his resolve fell. He sat down next to Gavin with a huff, and Gavin smirked when he realised he was right. How did he already know Michael so well when they had only met a few days ago?

"Yeah, I do. You're right, it is dangerous. We'll likely be killed before we even get near the king. But that man, he deserves everything he gets..."

Michael was looking at the wall across from them, so he didn't notice the hand moving towards his until he felt it slip into his own. He cast his eyes down to their hands entwined together, and when he lifted his head back up to look at Gavin, he was enraptured by his eyes, so close to his own.

"I agree," Gavin said softly.

"But are you comfortable with this, with going into the city with Ryan? It'll only be you two. I don't know what it's like there, but there's probably a lot of guards. If something were to happen, I won't be there to help you." Michael felt his cheeks warm as he realised what he said. "Uh, _we_ won't be there to help you. All you'll have is Ryan, do you trust him?"

"I-"

Suddenly, their peaceful moment was broken by the knock at their door, and Michael quickly whipped around, his hand falling out of Gavin's grip as he faced the door. A second later, Geoff poked his head into the room.

"Um, dinner's ready, but you can come out whenever you want," he said with a wink, and smiled as he turned to leave.

Michael looked at Gavin in confusion, but he seemed to be just as bewildered at Geoff's statement. After a moment, Michael just shrugged and got up from the bed.

"Come on, I'm starving." As if to prove his point, his stomach rumbled loudly, and he heard Gavin laugh as he followed him out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayy Ryan's finally joined the gang and the ball gets rolling!


	6. A Walk in the Woods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise bonus chapter this week! It's Christmas morning and I can't sleep so here is my holiday present to you!
> 
> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!

It took them until the next day until they had somewhat of a plan in place. Gavin and Ryan were going to travel to Ozryon the next morning. It was about a day’s travel away, so they should arrive sometime the following day.

Ryan reckoned that it was better to enter the city during the day than at night, as at night the guards were much more cautious as to who they let into the city, and during the day it was busier. With all the hustle and bustle of people leaving and coming into the city constantly throughout the day, the guards at the gate were less likely to pay much attention to each and every person.

Then, they were hopefully only going to be in the city for just a day or two, before they made their way back home.

They all spent the rest of that day getting everything ready for Ryan and Gavin's trip, and when the next morning arrived, they were all up before dawn to see Ryan and Gavin off.

Michael was standing in the middle of the front room. He looked around, and saw that Ryan, Geoff and Jack were in the kitchen putting together some food for Ryan and Gavin to take with them. Gavin himself was standing by the dining table. When Michael glanced over to him, he was fiddling with his bag that was on top of the table, checking over the contents inside.

Gavin was dressed in entirely different clothes, which Jack and Geoff had given to him to wear. The outfit was made up of black boots, brown trousers and a white shirt, but it was mainly covered up by a light blue cloak that went down to his knees.

It was weird seeing him in so many different colours. Not a hint of green left on him.

Michael glanced over at the others again, and saw that they were still occupied, so he went over to Gavin. When Gavin noticed him coming over, he smiled at him, but then it turned into a frown when Michael pulled him aside.

"Are you alright?" Michael asked, beginning to feel anxious. He didn't know why he was suddenly feeling so worried, it wasn't like he was the one putting himself in possible danger.

Maybe it was because of how, despite only knowing Gavin for a short period of time, he had never felt so close to someone as he felt with him. He was worried that something was going to happen, and he wouldn't be there to protect him. He wouldn't even know if something _did_ happen to him.

Not only that, he still wasn't sure if he trusted Ryan and didn't like how Gavin would be alone with him. Michael had only known Ryan for a brief period of time, and his powers made Michael feel uneasy. He said that there were limits to what he could do with them, but Michael wouldn't put it past him to lie about that.

Gavin seemed to sense his concern as he gave Michael a sympathetic smile and reached out to put his hand on his arm.

"We'll be okay."

It didn't quiet suppress his nerves, but it did make him feel calm enough to offer Gavin a smile back. They looked at each other in silence for a moment. There was something sweet and serene about it, even with the light chatter from the kitchen drifting over, but then Michael jumped as he remembered something else.

"Oh! I almost forgot." Michael walked over to the coffee table and picked something up before he turned back around to face Gavin. He reached his hand out to offer the object to Gavin. "Here."

It was a dagger. Not of the best quality, Michael had bought it very cheaply a few years ago, but it had come in handy whenever he had needed it. On this trip, Ryan and Gavin weren't taking any weapons with them as they feared it would draw too much attention. The dagger was small, though, so Gavin would be able to hide it easily. And if someone were to see it, then it wouldn't be quite as suspicious. Most people tended to carry smaller weapons on themselves for protection anyway.

Michael wasn't happy with letting them go off without any sort of protection, in case Ryan and Gavin were recognised and something were to happen to them, so he was more than happy to give Gavin something to help.

Gavin looked down at his out-stretched hand in surprise. "What's that for?"

"It's for you. Something might happen, so you should at least have some sort of protection on you. I know you have your creeper power or whatever, but a dagger is _slightly_ less suspicious than you exploding a bunch of shit."

"It's yours?" Gavin leaned in closer to peer at the dagger in Michael's hand, but he still didn't take it.

"Yeah, well it was. I want you to have it, you need it more than me right now. Here."

The dagger was in a holster with a belt. Michael moved in closer to Gavin and reached around his waist to wrap the belt around him. He made sure the dagger was tucked into his side, so that it was well hidden by the cloak. He tightened the belt so that it was secure around Gavin's waist, and then he took a step back to examine how it looked. You couldn't even tell that the dagger was there.

Gavin glanced down at himself, and then beamed up at Michael. "Thank you." He took a step back, put his hands on his hips and started to twist and turn, like he was posing. "How do I look?"

Michael couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness. "You look great."

He didn't think Gavin could ever look less than amazing.

"Gavin."

The two of them looked over to see that the others had finally sorted everything out. Ryan was standing there with his bag on his back looking ready to go. "Are you ready?"

"Yep!" Gavin strode over to his bag and threw it over his shoulders, adjusting it slightly before he joined the others who were now waiting by the door.

"Let's go."

Jack, Geoff and Michael walked with them until they reached the gate at the end of the garden. They watched as Gavin and Ryan set off on their journey, Gavin turning around every few seconds to wave at them, and they stood there until they both disappeared into the trees.

* * *

They had been walking for a few hours now. The sun had risen and was now high in the sky.

For the most part, they had been walking in silence. Ryan had not said much, other than the general bit of information about what direction they were to go in, and Gavin wasn't about to start any conversations with him.

He didn't want to admit it, but Ryan still kind of scared him. He wasn't sure why, but there was just something about his eerie and standoffish attitude that made Gavin not quite ready to trust him. When he and Michael had met Geoff and Jack, they were instantly so kind and warm towards them that Gavin didn't even think about how he barely knew them, and the longer he knew them, the easier it was to trust them. The same went for when he first met Michael, but with Ryan it was different. He had barely said two words before he unleashed his magic on them, and it wasn't like he had the friendliest power. He had also only known him what, two days? Sure, he had only known the others just a bit longer than that, but he hadn't even had much of a conversation with Ryan, the first meeting straight after they met included.

"We should rest for a bit," Ryan said as he slowed down.

"Oh, okay," Gavin stammered. He wasn't expecting their silence to be broken anytime soon, and Ryan's sudden statement startled him. "Yeah, we should."

"This seems like a good place to stop."

Gavin didn't quite know what Ryan meant by that. They were in the middle of the forest and surrounded by trees. This spot didn't seem any different from the spots they passed by the last few hours, and it most likely wasn't different from any they had yet to come across. Nevertheless, he still went to sit down across from Ryan, making sure there was a bit of distance between them.

He leant up against a tree as he started to rummage around in his bag for his water flask. Once he had found it, he moved to open it, unscrewing the top as he watched Ryan also search his bag for something. After a moment, he produced something wrapped in cloth, and he unravelled it before offering its contents to Gavin.

"Here," Ryan said as he reached his hand out to offer what Gavin realised were a couple of bread rolls.

"Oh, thank you." Gavin hesitantly reached out to take the offerings from Ryan. When he realised that it was ridiculous being scared of taking something from Ryan, that he knew the bread was made by Jack anyway, he eagerly took the bread and made sure to offer Ryan a shy smile in return.

Ryan just looked at Gavin for a moment with a blank stare on his face, and Gavin feared he had done something to make him mad, but then his expression turned warm as he smiled back at Gavin.

"You're welcome. Although, you should probably thank Jack." He paused for a second to lean in closer to Gavin, like he wanted to tell him something that he didn't want anyone else to know. Which was odd, seeing as no one else was around to hear, but Gavin still listened intently. "Between you and me, half the reason I said yes to Geoff was knowing that I was going to get to enjoy their cooking," he laughed, before he leant back to lean against his own tree, and tucked into his bread.

Gavin was pretty sure that was the first time he had seen Ryan without a hint of seriousness on his face. He looked childish, mischievous, like this really was just an elaborate plan for some good food, and so Gavin laughed too.

"It is pretty amazing."

"Too right," Ryan managed to get out around the bread filling his face, which made Gavin's smile widen. Maybe Ryan wasn't too bad...

They sat in silence for a little while, quietly eating their food. Ryan had produced a couple of other snacks from his bag, and Gavin wondered how much food he had packed when he wasn't looking.

After they had finished their food and had some water and a rest, they started on their journey once more. It was probably about another hour of them walking before Gavin decided to break the silence.

He had been thinking about something for a little while now, but every time he went to open his mouth he froze up. Even though he had spent several hours with Ryan now, and after their break he realised Ryan wasn't as cold as he had first thought, he still didn't feel confident enough to speak to him. Especially as since they had started walking again, not one word had been exchanged between them.

However, after Gavin had asked the question in his head over and over ahead, figuring out how to phrase it, he finally built up the courage to talk to Ryan.

"Ryan?"

"Hmm?" Ryan turned slightly to look towards him. They were walking side by side, the gaps between the trees wide enough that they didn't have to walk single file, so Ryan only had to cast his eyes sideways.

"What you said earlier, about whoever kills the king, gets to be king? Is that really true?"

"Yes, it is, why?"

"I don't know, I just wondered." Gavin went quiet again, but he knew that wasn't what he really wanted to ask. He started speaking again before he lost all of his confidence. "Who do you think will, you know, be king?"

Ryan was quiet for a moment, like he was thinking of his answer, before he spoke.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I don't really have any intentions on becoming royalty." He paused briefly to smile inwardly. "I don't really think Michael has the patience for it."

That made Gavin laugh, and Ryan chuckled slightly too.

"Maybe Geoff or Jack. They seem suitable for it. Like they were born for it, actually."

Gavin hummed in agreement; they did seem the most suitable. Although, Gavin was surprised Ryan didn't want to do it himself. He was the one that came up with the idea, and he did give off a vibe that made him seem like the exact type of person who would jump at the chance of being king. Maybe he just didn't want to kill someone for it.

That thought made him realise something that he hadn't thought of before. He knew that he didn't want to be the one to kill the king, but he hadn't really thought about whether anyone else would actually do it either. It seemed like a big thing that none of them were ready for.

"Do you think they'll actually do it?" He didn't need to be specific. By the look Ryan gave him, it seemed he knew exactly what he was asking.

"Someone has to."

He looked so serious in that moment that Gavin didn't ask any more questions.

As the sky got darker, it also got colder. The sun had only just begun to set, but as it did so, a breeze had started to pick up as well. Gavin pulled the cloak he was wearing closer around himself to try and prevent the chill from reaching him anymore than it already was.

He didn't like being out of his regular clothes. They were comfortable and made to withstand the cold. The clothes that Geoff and Jack had given him were also comfortable, albeit a little big for him, but they were brighter than he was used to. His creeper clothes were darker and made it much easier for him to hide in the midst of the trees and the bushes. The blue of the cloak made him feel like he was standing out, as if as the forest got darker, he got brighter. At least it was somewhat warm.

"In Geoff's letter, he mentioned about what happened with your village. Is _that_ true?"

Gavin grew solemn at the mention of what happened just a few days ago. The chill was forgotten as he remembered just why he was doing this. He didn't want to think about it, let alone talk to Ryan about it, although he knew that he at least should reply to him.

"Yeah," he said simply, quietly.

"We'll make it better."

Gavin gaped at that, surprised that was Ryan's response. He thought that he was going to make Gavin explain in detail what actually happened that fateful morning or show that he didn't care at all. But Ryan sounded so sure and sincere, like he was truly sorry for what happened and that he really believed they were going to make it all okay. Ryan sounded the most human he had all day and for that Gavin offered him back a genuine smile, and for a moment he believed him too.

"You know," Ryan continued, a cheeky smile creeping onto his face. "I've never actually had the opportunity to talk to a creeper before. I will admit, whenever I've seen one of you guys in the past, I've avoided them at all costs, but that means I don't really know anything about your kind. I'm a curious guy. Would you care to tell me a bit about you? You know, what it's like to be a creeper, what you do, any secrets you're hiding?" He chuckled. "Not to say that you are hiding any, but who knows what goes happens in your part of the forest." He wiggled his eyebrows, which made Gavin laugh along with him.

Ryan was looking at him with honest curiosity, almost like an eager child willing to learn as much as they could about the world around them, not even knowing how much bigger it was than they realised. Ryan didn't want to know about the bad things that had happened, to make Gavin feel guilty about not being with his people. He wasn't being accusing, wanting to know why Gavin's people had hurt so many others in the past. No, he just wanted to know about what it was like being a creeper.

And so, Gavin told him. He told him about his village, about how they lived in little wooden houses that they had built in the trees, about how there were so many different flowers that grew on the ground beneath them, although there was nowhere near as many as Jack had in his garden. He told him about how they weren't only raised by their parents, but by the whole village as well. About how they were like one big family, how they were so close and helped each other out, but also how they encouraged each other to be independent.

And Ryan listened. He listened as he told him about how they didn't really talk to each other using the language that human's used, but rather through their own language of clicks and hisses. About how they only learnt the human's language from being in a fairly close proximity to them, and there was still a lot about the language that Gavin didn't know. He didn't know a lot about humans either, about how they had odd gestures that Gavin didn't understand. He listened as Gavin told him that he found humans weird, to which Ryan laughed and agreed.

Gavin didn't mention once about the attack from the guards, or about his feelings towards how people thought of creepers. He only told him about the good bits. The bits worth remembering, worth telling others about so that they could see what it was really like being a creeper.

And not once did he even _think_ about what had happened, either. He just thought about the things he loved to remember, about what he wanted others to know, and he basked in the joy of forgetting what had happened, even if it was just for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was a lovely chapter wasn't it...would be a shame if something bad were to happen..


	7. Ozryon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're all enjoying the holidays! It's time for another chapter! :D

When the sun had fully set and darkness had taken over the sky, they found a place to rest for the night. The spot where they had decided to rest was, as Gavin thought, just like every other spot in the forest. However, Gavin didn't mind. It was right by some good trees that Gavin could climb and sleep in.

When Ryan questioned why he was climbing up the tree, Gavin explained to him that he found it much easier to sleep on a branch in the tree than the grass on the ground, as that was where creepers built their homes after all. He offered Ryan to join him in the tree, but Ryan dismissed it, laughing as he said, "I'd definitely fall off if I slept on a branch."

So, that was how he woke up the next morning, high up in a tree whilst Ryan slept several feet below him on the ground. He and Ryan had both packed a small blanket with them, but Gavin was thankful for the big cloak that he had been given as well. Wrapping it around his body gave him some extra warmth against the chill that the night had brought.

He was disappointed to leave the warm cocoon that he had built for himself, but when he heard Ryan start to stir below him, he knew he couldn't stay up there any longer. They had somewhere they needed to be, and the sooner they got there, the sooner they could leave.

By the time Gavin had reached the bottom of the tree, Ryan was already on his feet and packing up his own blanket.

"Mornin'," Gavin mumbled through a yawn. The sun had already started to rise, but Gavin still felt like it was too early to be awake. If he had the choice, he would gladly still be asleep.

"Morning," Ryan looked up from his bag, giving him a smile as he did so.

After their conversation the previous evening, Gavin had felt himself warm up to Ryan. He didn't seem as callous or scary as he had before, and Gavin was feeling a lot more comfortable around him. It seemed that Ryan had warmed up to him too, no longer having a constant blank or serious look on his face all the time.

"We should get going as soon as. We're probably about an hour or so walk away. I still have a bit of food left in my bag. We can eat that on the way."

And so, they took off. It was a much less tense journey today than the day before. Even though not many words were exchanged between them, it didn't feel as awkward as before, and Gavin didn't feel so scared to say something to Ryan if he wanted to.

"We're getting close now," Ryan began after a little while into their journey. "Soon, we will reach the edge of the forest and you will be able to see the city from there. When we get there, I would keep the hood of your cloak down. It'll draw too much attention at the gates, the guards usually like to get a good look at your face to make sure you're not a wanted criminal or something. But when we get inside, put it on. People tend to not ask you too many questions if you look like you don't want to talk to them in the first place."

Gavin nodded along, taking in everything that Ryan was saying with great intent. He was relying on Ryan's knowledge alone to get them through this. He knew nothing about where they were going, and although Ryan had said that he had only been there a short time, he still knew more than Gavin. It was Ryan's knowledge that stood between them and the possibility of being captured as soon as they reached the city.

"We should probably head straight to the market square when we get there. Hopefully there will be some information there that will be useful. Or maybe we can find someone that will be of use."

"Wouldn't it be dangerous to talk to someone about, you know," Gavin threw his arms up, gesturing around them, "all of this?"

Ryan leant in closer to him, and Gavin wondered how he managed to keep walking forward like that and not trip over or something.

"Not if we don't tell them about it," he whispered with a grin. "We just need to ask the right questions and not tell them anything they don't need to know."

"Are you sure we'll find anything useful, though? What if no one helps us?"

Ryan leant back so he wasn't as close, but he kept looking at him with that grin still on his face. "We will find something. And if not, then we might after a little...influence."

At that, Ryan's eyes started to glow that same red that showed he was using his magic. Gavin let out a small, involuntary gasp, but before anything could happen, Ryan's eyes started to fade back to normal.

"Relax," Ryan laughed. "I'm not just going to blow our cover so easily."

Gavin did relax, trusting that Ryan was smart enough to not expose them like that. However, he still couldn't shake his anxiety that this whole thing wasn't going to be worth it, that they wouldn't find anything useful or they were going to get caught.

He didn't enjoy the fact that they were heading towards the same place that those guards who chased him through the forest had come from. He knew it was highly unlikely any of them would recognise him, but that didn't stop him from worrying about being in close proximity with them, as well as the very man who wanted him dead in the first place.

Ryan could probably sense his concern, or he could see it. By how nervous he felt it was most likely all over his face. Ryan stopped walking, and he put a hand on Gavin's shoulder to get him to stop as well.

"Don't worry, this will all go according to plan. We will just go in there, stick around for a bit, and then leave. We'll be fine, I promise."

Gavin looked up at him, searching his face to see if he was lying to him. He seemed confident that this was all going to go well. Although, he made it out like they were just a couple of regular people who were visiting the city for a couple of days, like it was a vacation. Not a creeper and an enchanter looking for anything that might help them with killing the most important man in the land.

"Okay?" Ryan was looking at him with a hint of concern on his face.

Gavin took a moment to take deep breath, washing off any fear that he had swimming around in his head, and he gave Ryan a confident nod.

Ryan nodded back, giving him a small smile in return. "Good. Come on, we're very close now."

Ryan dropped his hand off of Gavin's shoulder, and continued to lead the way as Gavin followed.

Ryan was right. What felt like only roughly ten minutes later, the edge of the forest came into view. When they reached the end of the trees, they stepped out on what appeared to be the edge of a farmer's field.

In front of them was a small wooden fence, separating the field from the forest. The crops, which Gavin could guess were wheat, grew so high in the field they were almost at their waists. It was almost as impressive as Jack's small farm, and the thought of that brought an ache of wanting to be safe back at their little house hidden deep in the forest. However, Gavin forgot about that for a moment as he took in what he could see on the horizon.

Ozryon. Or, at least, the walls surrounding it. Even from this distance the walls seemed so tall and magnificent, breaking through the horizon and cutting along the sky.

"We will need to walk through this field," Ryan broke him out of his staring. "On the other side we'll reach a small town that is right outside the city wall."

"Won't someone be mad we're treading on their crops?" Gavin looked across the field, scared that someone was going to jump out and yell at them from ruining their wheat.

"Don't worry, we'll find a path between them that we can walk down. How else do you think farmers reach their crops without stepping on them?" Ryan didn't wait for Gavin to answer, and instead he started to climb over the fence.

Gavin shrugged and started to follow him over the fence, trying not to get tangled up in his cloak as he did so. When he jumped down on the other side, Ryan started to lead him through the wheat. Sure enough, they came across a path where no crops grew that stretched down the length of the field.

Gavin glanced over at the city again. The walls were so high that you couldn't see most of the buildings, but there were some further away that he could just about see peaking over the walls. He suspected that it was part of the palace. It was the only place he could think of that would be so tall.

"Why are we going this way, if the city is over there?" He pointed in the direction of where the tall walls rose out in the distance. They were walking in a straight line, directly away from the forest. However, the city was on their right, parallel to the way they were walking, and they weren't going any closer towards it. Gavin glanced over to edge of the forest and could see that the trees travelled down so far that they even reached the edge of the city walls. "Why did we come out of the forest so soon? Wouldn't it be quicker to just walk in that direction?"

"True, the forest does continue further down, so we could have continued down that way," Ryan explained. "However, if we go to the city from this town, then we will blend in more and it'll seem less suspicious. They'll think we live here or something. If we were to make a beeline straight from the forest to the city, then they'll probably be wondering why we were in the forest in the first place."

"Don't people usually go to the forest anyway?" Gavin was sure he had heard of humans milling about in the trees in the past, although they never got too close to his side of the forest.

"Only guards and soldiers really. Mainly because they know the types of people who live in the forest," Ryan gave Gavin a pointed look and, understanding where he was getting at, Gavin decided to stop asking any more questions for the rest of their walk through the field, and instead started to brush his fingertips along the wheat as he walked by.

Several minutes later they reached the other end of the field, and they hopped over the fence that separated that side of field from the rest of the town. They came out onto a road, only a few buildings dotted around, and Gavin assumed that they were most likely where the farmers lived. Either that, or some people probably just enjoyed living on the quieter outskirts of the town.

They started to walk up the road, now heading in the direction of Ozryon. As they walked along, more and more buildings started to fill up the sides of the road until they were surrounded by them. Wooden and stone structures that had people constantly wondering in and out of them. The dirt road was now covered in cobbles, and it branched off around buildings as the town grew the further they walked into it.

Gavin had never seen anything like it. He was so used to the forest, of which he had barely ever left, so he had never seen a town so big. He figured that this one wasn't even that big compared to others, was probably considered quite small if the size of Ozryon in the distance was anything to go by. But from just walking a few minutes into the town he could already tell that it was much bigger than his little creeper village.

His awe was noticed by Ryan, as he heard him chuckle beside him.

"We just need to keep going through here, and Ozryon is on the other side. It won't take long," Ryan said as he led him through the throng of steadily growing people.

As they got further into the heart of the town, more and more people seemed to appear. Gavin had never been around so many humans before, and it made him feel a little nervous, like one of them was going to look at him and immediately know what he was. He decided to keep his head down as stepped to walk a little closer to Ryan.

Not before long, they were reaching the other side of the town. The people on the street began to dwindle down, and the buildings were becoming smaller and sparser. When they got to the edge of the town, the houses and buildings had stopped, but the cobbled road continued in a straight line all the way to the gates into the city.

The road was fairly short and lined with torches, which weren't currently lit as it was still bright out and only the middle of the day. Gavin could only imagine how beautiful the pathway would look at night, with all the lights trailing along the way.

Now that they were much closer, Gavin could truly see how high the walls of the city were. They towered above them, so tall, taller than any tree he had ever seen in the forest. When Gavin looked closely enough, he could see that some people were standing at the top. He wondered how magnificent the view would be from up there. You could probably see for miles and miles.

They made their way down the path, passing city-goers who were walking in and out of the gates. The gates were open, but there were a few guards who were standing to the sides, keeping an eye on everybody who walked by.

As they approached the guards, Gavin felt himself get more and more nervous. In his new clothes, it would be quite impossible for any of them to know what he was, but that still didn't suppress his anxiety about how these were the same people who attacked his village. When he got closer to them, it felt like their eyes were boring into him. He kept his own eyes cast down, trying not to make eye contact or draw any attention to himself.

A few moments later they were past the guards and were through the gates into the city, and Gavin could allow himself to relax slightly when the guards just allowed them to walk by.

If Gavin thought that the town they had just walked through was impressive, it was nothing in comparison to Ozryon. Now that they were through the gates, he could truly see how extraordinary the city was. The buildings were so tall, some almost reached the same height as the city walls. The streets were filled with people, way more than he had seen before, and the clothes they wore suddenly made Gavin feel like he stood out in his borrowed clothes, and he lifted his hood over his head like Ryan had suggested.

Being a creeper meant that Gavin didn't know much, or anything really, about fashion. All creepers wore pretty much the same thing; garbs woven from plants and animal pelts, any natural elements found in their depths of the forest. He hadn't seen much of anything else, but he could tell that the clothes worn by these people were of a high quality. Expensive looking fabric sewn together with expensive looking thread.

It made sense that the city that held the heart of the land would look so high class, including the people.

"The market's up this way," Ryan gestured down the road that stretched out in front of them until it bent around a building up a head. "Let's head there."

They made their way down the street, passing by civilians who bustled about like they all had places to be. Some were loudly speaking to each other, some were yelling out to the crowd of passers-by, trying to coax them into their shop by promising better deals than they would find anywhere else.

It took them several minutes before the crowd around them grew more abundant and the street they were walking down opened up into a wide area. Stalls filled up the area, each one filled with something different from the other. People were crowded around each one, eager to buy whatever they were selling.

Gavin and Ryan joined the crowd and began to stroll through the market. Gavin wasn't quite sure what they were looking for here, so he just followed closely behind Ryan, trusting that he would have more of an idea of what to look out for.

After a moment, Ryan began to lead them to a stall on their left. When Gavin got closer, he realised that it was a food stall. All different kinds of fresh food were on display, and from where Gavin stood, he could smell the delicious aroma of the selection.

"Seeing as we ate all our food," Ryan gestured to the stall in front of them. "Any preferences?"

"As long as it's food, I'm happy."

Ryan chuckled and turned to the display of food, discussing with the seller as to what he wanted.

Whilst Ryan was occupied, Gavin's gaze started to drift to the rest of the market. He watched the different merchants sell their goods to keen buyers, and the various citizens who made their way through the maze of stalls, until his gaze landed on something not too far away from them.

In the middle of the market, there appeared to some sort of notice board. Gavin glanced over towards Ryan to see that he was still busy picking out food, so Gavin decided to make his way over to the board.

The notice board was covered with various pieces of information. Most of it was taken up by what appeared to be a map of the city, of which was placed in the centre of the board. Filling up the rest of it were a bunch of different posters, each announcing some sort of upcoming event or piece of information that someone would probably find interesting.

There were a few with 'Help Wanted' scrawled across the top, although from just a quick glance Gavin began to question the integrity of some of the job offerings. As much as Gavin wanted to believe that it did, 'take care of my nosey neighbour' most likely didn't mean that they wanted their neighbour to be looked after.

Next to the job listings was a wanted poster, with a random man sketched onto it. Maybe he took care of someone's nosey neighbour.

Gavin tensed as he suddenly felt a presence next to him, but he relaxed as soon as he heard the familiar voice.

"So, this is where you wandered off to."

Gavin glanced away from the board to smile at Ryan, who was now holding a bag of food in his hand.

"Sorry, I got distracted," he gestured to the board as he went to gaze back at the wanted poster he had just been looking at.

"No worries. This might help us, actually."

"The wanted poster?"

"No, this."

Gavin looked towards where Ryan was pointing at a poster. It was bigger than most of the others on the board, and very colourful, like it was trying to grab the attention of everyone that walked by. Gavin moved a little closer to Ryan to get a better look at what was on the poster.

Across the poster were the words 'King's Annual Festival' in big letters.

"A festival?" The date that was scribbled across the bottom of the poster stated that it was still a few weeks away. A festival sounded like it could be fun, if you weren't wanted by the king, but Gavin was hoping that Ryan wasn't planning to stick around for that long all for a festival, especially as they had more pressing matters at hand.

"Yeah!" Ryan replied eagerly, but when he looked at Gavin and noticed that he wasn't sharing the same enthusiasm, he sighed and pointed back at the poster. "Look at this."

Gavin looked to where Ryan was gesturing to on the poster, and he finally understood why Ryan seemed so eager. Right where Ryan was pointing it read 'A chance to meet the king!'

"Meeting the king..." Gavin trailed off, thinking about what this could mean.

"Seems like a pretty easy way to get close to him. Just need to figure out how to finish the job." Ryan grew quiet and quickly glanced around, like he just remembered they were in public and he needed to be careful about what he said. "We need to find out more about this festival."

Gavin turned back to the poster, but it didn't really have that much information on it. Other than the date of the festival and the fact that it was being held in this city, there wasn't really any other details that would be useful. Just the _name_ of the festival took up most of the space on the paper!

"How are we going to do that?" Gavin turned back to Ryan, who looked like he was deep in thought for a moment, until he shot upright, wide eyed with a slight grin on his face.

"I think I have an idea. There's a place I remember going to last time I was here. It may help us out." Ryan hitched the bag of food he was carrying onto his shoulder. "I think I remember the way, hopefully it's still there."

He started to leave, shooting Gavin a quick glance to make sure he was following. "I'll tell you about it on the way. It should be just what we need."


	8. Murphy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He should have felt angry. This man helped tear down everything he had ever known. He should have wanted to make him pay for what he did, but all he felt was scared. Scared and nervous and afraid.
> 
> In that moment, he couldn't feel less like the most feared creature in this land.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for possible sexual harassment (it's very very slight and could be skipped over, but just thought I would warn just in case!)
> 
> Also Happy New Year!

Ryan led him deeper and deeper into the city. Gavin was beginning to think the city would never end. No matter how far they walked, they seemed to never reach the other side. Although, after some time of walking through the streets of the city, the walls of the city's edge started to draw nearer, and the roads began to get narrower and more desolate. It was strange going from the hustle and bustle of the middle of the city, to the quiet streets of the city's outskirts.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Gavin began to feel nervous as they walked further into the dreary parts of the city. It seemed darker and scarier, like something would jump out at them from one of the tight alleys that they passed. Gavin knew it was ridiculous though, looking around him this part of the city wasn't that much different from the part they had just come from. It was just smaller and quieter, although Gavin did wonder what made this area seem so abandoned. "How is this place supposed to help us?"

"It's a place where people go to for answers, people who...are not from around here," Ryan said slowly from where he walked slightly in front of Gavin. "People who come here, but don't want anyone to know what they're doing or why they're doing it. It's a place for people like us. Well, not _exactly_ like us, if you know what I mean?" Ryan glanced behind to look at Gavin, who nodded back at him. Sure, he knew what he meant. People who were outcasts, misfits, but not enchanters or creepers.

"And you want to go in there and ask them how to, you know..." Gavin couldn't find the words for what they were doing without outright saying it. He was worried as to who might be listening in to their conversation, and he was still coming to terms with what they were doing. He didn't know if he _could_ just say it out loud.

"Not exactly. We're still going to go in there and try to find out more about this festival, it's our best bet," Ryan slowed to a stop, and turned around to face Gavin. "Look, if we were to ask anyone in this city about this festival, we're probably not going to get more of a response than there'll be 'delicious food' or 'good music' there, right?"

Gavin nodded, albeit hesitantly. He had never been to a festival; he didn't know if there would be food or not!

"So, if we were to press a little harder, find out where the king liked to go during this event, or if he was ever alone, what meeting him actually involved. Would we get close to him, or is it more of a 'meeting him from a distance' kind of thing? It would seem kind of suspicious, wouldn't it?"

Gavin nodded, again. He began to understand what Ryan was getting at. "This place is where you can ask these sorts of questions?"

"Exactly. Well, we'll still need to rephrase the questions. Asking 'can I get close enough to the king to reach him with a sword?' is a bit too on the nose."

Although the joke may have been a bit morbid, Gavin laughed at that. However, it might have been from his nerves. They were about to walk into a place where, by the sounds of it, criminals liked to hang out, and ask them questions about some festival where they planned to do the unthinkable. He couldn't help but shake a little as they continued to walk again.

Just a few minutes later they rounded onto a street, only for Ryan to stop in front of a rundown looking tavern. The name over the door seemed to be missing a few letters, but Gavin could just about make out the name: 'The Strong Arms'. Either that or 'The Strange Arks,' but that didn't sound quite as intimidating.

Ryan let out a huff of breath, the only indicator of his nerves, before he stepped up to the door and opened it.

As soon as the door was open, Gavin was hit by the noise coming from inside. He stepped inside as Ryan held the door open for him and was surprised by the amount of people there were. By the looks of it on the outside, the place looked nearly abandoned, but it didn't seem at all like that inside. The place was filled, patrons around every table, a drink in each of their hands that threatened to spill as arms were waved about in either liveliness or drunken shenanigans.

When they both entered the room, the noise seemed to quieten down. Conversations stopped as people took a moment to take in who had just walked in through the door. Gavin felt his breath stop as heads began to turn towards him, like they knew he didn't belong here and were ready to kick him out, take him down, make him regret ever stepping foot into their space. But, after a breathless moment, the heads began to turn back, the conversations continued. Clearly Ryan and Gavin were not worth stopping their fun.

Ryan lead him over to the bar, ordering two drinks of whatever. Gavin didn't pay attention to it, his heart still hammering in his chest, knowing that he shouldn't be in a place like this. The people here would eat him alive if he gave them a wrong look. He was half wanting to stare at the floor, half trying to look somewhat confident, in case they could smell his fear and know he didn't belong.

"Here ya go."

Gavin snapped his head towards the unfamiliar voice and saw that the man behind the bar was sliding a couple of drinks towards Ryan and him. Gavin glanced up towards him and couldn't help but stare as his gaze reached the other man's eyes, or eye.

His left eye appeared to have been clawed out. Scars stretched from his cheek, over his eye, and wrapped around his head until it reached his left ear. Or what was left of the ear, the top of it looking like it had been torn off.

Gavin stared for a moment longer, wondering what could have happened to him, until he noticed the man was beginning to scowl at him. Or had he always been scowling, and Gavin had only just noticed? He looked like the type of person who would have a permanent scowl on his face. Whether that was true or not, Gavin didn't want to be the cause of that scowl turning into something much worse, and he quickly cast his daze down and reached for his drink.

"Thanks," Ryan said quickly and tossed some money onto the counter, seeming as if he was feeling as awkward as Gavin was in that moment.

They shuffled along through the crowd of people to get to the other side of the long bar, the only place that appeared to have any free seats. As they sat down, Gavin looked at his drink for the first time since he'd picked it up. He didn't know what it was, but it looked dark and bubbly in his cup.

"It's ale," Ryan said, apparently aware of Gavin's confused staring. "You don't have to drink it if you don't want to, but we'd be kicked out if we didn't at least buy _something_."

Gavin lifted the cup up to his nose, hesitantly smelling the liquid. It smelt strong and rich, but it wasn't the worst smell in the world. Apprehensively, he brought the drink closer to his mouth and took a small sip.

He was immediately hit with the strong, bitter taste, his throat burning as he swallowed. He pulled a face as he put the drink back down, his mouth feeling numb with the aftertaste.

Ryan laughed at his struggle. "Yeah, it's not great."

"Why would people drink that," he spluttered as the taste began to disperse a bit.

"You get used to it, I guess," Ryan shrugged as he took his own sip, a bigger one than Gavin, and grimaced slightly as he set his drink back down. "And sometimes it tastes better than others."

Gavin leant back on his barstool. Well, as far back as he could without falling off.

"Sooo," he drawled out as he spun on his seat to get a better look at the room they were in. "Any idea on who we're going to ask?"

Ryan twisted around on his own chair, examining the room. He cast his gaze over everyone briefly, before he turned back round to face the bar. "No."

"What d'you mean?" Gavin turned back round so that he was facing the bar as well. "You said this is the place we could get answers, no questions asked. Can't we just ask anyone?"

"That's not exactly how it works," Ryan was lightly tracing his fingers around the rim of his cup. "If we just go up to someone, they're just going to dismiss us. What we want to know is not worth their time. We'll need to do it more casually."

Ryan looked at his drink thoughtfully. He glanced back up towards where the bartender was down the other end of the bar, before he looked back down at his drink. He let out a deep sigh, and picked up his drink and began to chug it down.

Gavin watched him in shock and confusion. Was Ryan just really thirsty or was this his attempt at being casual?

Several seconds passed, and then Ryan was placing his drink back down, his face screwed up.

"That wasn't a good idea," Ryan choked out.

"Why did you do that?"

Ryan coughed, but then he managed to compose himself. "To do this."

Ryan waved his hand out to get the bartender's attention. The bartender was in the middle of a conversation on the other end of the bar, but Ryan managed to grab his attention, and he made his way down to them.

When he reached them, he raised a questioning eyebrow, that scowl still on his face. Yeah, it was a permanent scowl.

"One more, please," Ryan gestured down to his now empty cup.

The man simply nodded and picked up the cup to refill it behind the bar.

"Hey," Ryan began whilst the man was still occupied. "We're new here, and we were wondering if there was anything interesting going on in the city? We want to get out of the house, you know."

The man behind the bar just shrugged as he put Ryan's new drink down and didn't say a thing.

"Uh, we heard there was a festival soon?" Ryan continued to try and get something out of the man. "Know anything about that?"

"Dunno," the man shrugged again. "Never really been to it."

"Really? It's the king's festival, isn't it? Sounds like a pretty big deal!" Gavin had to hand it to Ryan for staying enthusiastic when talking to a man who seemed like he had much better things to do than talk to the two of them.

"I can think of a thousand things I'd rather do than do anythin' associated with that man."

"Not a fan?" Ryan asked as he handed over some coins for his drink.

The man leant back against the wall behind the bar and crossed his arms. "I know ya ain't from around here, but ya can't exactly be blind to the things that man has done."

Gavin was surprised that this man was saying what he thought he was saying. Sure, he couldn't exactly be shocked that others felt the same way towards the king as he did, but he hadn't expected anyone to be so open about their hatred.

"Tell me about it," Ryan cast a quick glance to Gavin, like he also couldn't believe where this conversation was heading.

"He calls it 'The _King's_ Festival' and acts like it's a gift from him to his people, but really he calls it that because it's all for a him. Just a way for him to feel better about himself. A gift to himself." The man continued as if now he had been set off, he didn't know how to end his rant. "People only go for the free food and music. I'd be surprised if anyone actually went in _support_ of him."

"You wouldn't recommend it then?" Ryan lifted his drink to his lips and took a tentative sip.

"Not unless you were going to take it down or somethin'."

Gavin and Ryan looked at the man in fear, worrying that he somehow knew exactly what they were doing there. But the man just laughed, highly amused by his own joke, and Gavin and Ryan nervously laughed along with him. Of course, he had no reason to know who they were.

Their conversation stopped as the door to the tavern opened and the chatter from the other patrons began to quieten down. It was like when Gavin and Ryan had first entered the place, except this time after a few moments the conversations didn't pick back up.

Gavin looked over to the door to see who would cause such as reaction, and as he laid his eyes on the two figures at the door, he realised why everyone reacted the way they did.

Standing in the doorway were two of the palace guards.

Gavin could recognise them anywhere.

They were both still clad in their armour, just like what those guards had been wearing that fateful morning.

Now those two stood there, looking bold and assertive, like they owned the room. Gavin guessed that was nowhere near the truth, though. Not by the way the people in the room were glaring at them both. It wasn't exactly surprising; this place was apparently filled with those who would not associate themselves with the palace. Riffraff, misfits. Criminals. Not exactly the kinds of people who would be friendly with the guards.

Gavin wondered why such people would come into a place like this. Did they know what these people did? Were they there to capture them all? If that were true, then there would probably be more than just the two of them.

The two guards made their way over to the bar, acting like they were oblivious to the reaction they caused when they walked in. Gavin saw from the corner of his eye the bartender wander over to them to take their order. The chatter of the room picked up a bit after a moment, albeit it wasn't as lively as before.

Gavin turned to face Ryan, to silently question about what they should do, whether or not it was safe for them to stay here. It wasn't like the guards had any reason to know who they were, but they couldn't really find out what they needed to with those two in such a close proximity.

Ryan's face showed that he felt just as anxious at this situation as Gavin was. He didn't say anything, just kept glancing behind Gavin towards where the guards stood. But then his eyes grew wide and Gavin heard a chair scrap across the floor behind him and the clang of metal as the guards sat down.

"Mind if I sit here?" The guard laughed, loud and obnoxious, like he knew whatever Gavin replied with he would just ignore. He had already sat down before he'd even asked. However, all Gavin felt was the blood drain from his face and his stomach fill with dread when he heard the man's voice.

He slowly turned his head towards the man who sat next to him. He didn't believe that it could really be who he thought it was, of all people, but as he laid his eyes upon the guard his breath stopped as memories flooded his head.

_“Pl-please don't kill me! I have a family! I-I never wanted to go after your people! I just had to because it's my job! I need the money!”_

It was one of the guards who chased him through the forest. The same guard who distracted him and almost killed him.

It was like Gavin was suddenly back to that morning. Woken by the commotion happening just outside his little house, creepers alarming each other that they were under attack. Then him running in fear, not knowing where he could go just out, out, out, far, _away_.

He should have felt angry. This man helped tear down everything he had ever known. He should have wanted to make him pay for what he did, but all he felt was scared. Scared and nervous and afraid.

In that moment, he couldn't feel less like the most feared creature in this land.

Gavin didn't think he could feel any worse, that it could _be_ any worse, until the guard started to talk to him.

"You new here? I don't think I've seen you around before?"

Gavin didn't answer, just stared straight at his drink on the bar in front of him. He tried to calm his nerves by focusing on the foam that began to dissipate from the top of the liquid, but it was hard when the man next to him just continued.

"'Course you are, I would've remembered a pretty face like you."

Gavin shot up to stare at the man. His heart hammered in his chest as he took in what he said.

"C'mon, don't act so surprised! Anyone as beautiful as you will know _exactly_ what they look like." With the guard so close, Gavin got a much better look at his face than the last time they met. His hair was slicked back with grease and he looked like he didn't know a single thing about personal hygiene. Gavin lived in the middle of the forest and even he knew what at least a _bath_ was!

The guard's face was so close that Gavin could smell his breath. It smelt just like his ale, but somehow a whole lot stronger and a whole lot worse. The smirk the guard wore reminded Gavin of the evil grin he had given Gavin when he realised he had him trapped in the forest. It made Gavin feel sick.

"What do you say to the two of us getting away and having a bit of fun." Gavin flinched as he felt the man grab hold of his wrist, his grip tightening like he had no intention of letting Gavin go.

"We're leaving, actually," Ryan stood up abruptly from next to him. He put his hand on Gavin's shoulder to help him up, but the guard's grip just tightened some more.

"What, you his boyfriend or somethin'?" Gavin could see that the guard was beginning to get angry. His voice rose slightly and his eyebrows furrowed, like he couldn't believe someone would try and spoil his fun.

"Does it matter? You're not going to be his."

Ryan turned to Gavin then. His hand was still on Gavin's shoulder, and he continued to help him stand up.

"Let's go." He then turned back to the guard still sat in his chair, "and _let go_."

Ryan abruptly tore the man's hand from around Gavin's wrist, and immediately started to usher Gavin back out through the door. Gavin quickly followed him, not wanting that man to grab him again. Although, the guard looked so stunned by Ryan that he didn't make any move on either of them before they reached the door.

The fresh air that met them when they stepped out the door was just what Gavin needed to finally take in a deep breath. They didn't stop as soon as they got outside, though. Ryan kept his grip on Gavin until he had led him to an alley just slightly down the street from the tavern.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked, concern deep in his voice.

Gavin didn't know how he felt, he wasn't even one hundred percent sure he knew what had just happened. Did that man like him and that was his way of showing it? Or did he remember who Gavin was and hated him for escaping, and that was his revenge?

Ryan was watching him with a worried expression on his face as he waited for Gavin to answer. A mix of emotions were swirling through Gavin's head and he couldn't concentrate, so he decided to focus on the one thing he was sure of.

"That man, the guard, h-he was one of _them_ ," Gavin got out through choked breaths.

"One of who?" Ryan said slowly.

"The ones who came that morning! The ones who _attacked_ us! I know it was him! I _saw_ him! It-it was-"

"Hey, hey, hey, shh, it's okay," Gavin was cut off by his rambling as Ryan put his hands on Gavin's shoulders. "Look at me, okay?"

Gavin tried to steady his breathing as he looked up to Ryan in front of him.

"I won't let him hurt you, alright? You're safe with me."

When Gavin first met Ryan, he was sceptical of the man. Dressed entirely in black, he looked like the kind of man who lurked in the shadows, waited for you to stray too far from the track before he got you. He didn't exactly give them a good impression, not with how he unleashed his magic onto them with no warning. Then, he came up with some plan that only a madman would think would work. Not only that, he seemed so open to _murder_ that Gavin had to wonder if he had any...experience in the area. And then to top it off, he wanted _Gavin_ to come and join him on his scouting mission. _Alone_. Gavin didn't know how he felt about that, how he _should_ feel about it, but he went with him anyway because what choice did he really have?

But then Ryan had surprised him. Showed him compassion, listened when Gavin told him about his past. Been a companion in a way Gavin would never have imagined.

He showed Gavin that he could be trusted, and it was that that allowed Gavin to nod and start to calm down.

"O-okay."

However, it was as if the universe didn't want Gavin to be okay. Like everything that could go wrong, decided that it should go wrong.

"Hey, _darling_."

Gavin and Ryan quickly turned their heads towards the opening of the alley as they heard that fateful, all-too-familiar voice.

"That wasn't very _nice_."

Standing in the entrance of the alleyway were the two guards from the tavern. The one who had been talking, the one who Gavin recognised, had a look on his face that said he really was not happy with them. Gavin had almost forgotten about the second guard as he had been so quiet.

Even now he silently stood behind the other guard, quietly lurking whilst he waited to strike.

"Leave us alone." Ryan moved to stand in front of Gavin protectively, his fists clenched at his sides.

"I'm afraid it isn't that easy," the guard began to take a slow step towards them. " _No one_ turns me down like that and gets away with it."

The guard nodded his head towards them slightly, and the silent man behind him started to move forward too. A silent order to get them.

He rounded the other guard and in just a couple of quick strides he was directly in front of them. Without warning, the man swung at Ryan, who thankfully ducked so the punch just went over his head.

Gavin took a startled step back as Ryan righted himself.

"Now, there's no need for that-"

The guard took no notice of Ryan's attempt to make small talk, instead throwing a punch at him again.

Ryan managed to dodge the punch again, but the guard's next swing was too soon, and Ryan didn't have a chance to move out of the way before the man's fist connected with his face.

The guard took the moment that Ryan was dazed to throw his fist at him again, but this time he didn't punch him. Instead, he grabbed his hair and slammed his face into the wall of the alley.

"Ryan!"

"Now, now, there's no reason to be upset. We're just giving him a little payback."

Whilst Gavin was distracted by the fight between the silent guard and Ryan, he hadn't noticed that the other guard had moved to stand right next to him.

Seeing Ryan hang limply in the arms of the guard gave Gavin the confidence to speak directly to the other man for the first time.

"Leave him alone!" Gavin steeled himself as he turned to the guard next to him.

That confidence quickly shattered as the guard smiled cruelly at him and stepped towards him. Gavin went to step away from him but was stopped short as his back hit the wall.

"Sure, we'll leave _him_ alone now. He's done his part," the guard walked closer with each word until his body was mere centimetres away from Gavin's.

"Now it's your turn."

Any calmness that Gavin felt before was wiped out. He pressed himself up as much as he could to the wall behind him, but it wasn't enough to get him away from the foul stench of the guard's breath.

The guard seemed to find Gavin trying to move away as an invitation to move in closer. Gavin's heart was in his throat. He couldn't breathe. He turned his head away from the guard and squeezed his eyes shut to try and close himself off from the situation. Like if he couldn't see it, then it wasn't happening.

Then, something happened. Gavin really didn't think the situation could get any worse, but it did. Gavin didn't know what caused it. It was probably the built-up anxiety and stress and panic that had been bubbling up inside him since the tavern, since he entered the city. Hell, since when his village was _attacked_.

It all became too much as Gavin felt the guard press his hand against his chest.

And then the hand wasn't there.

Gavin slowly peeled his eyes open to find the guard who had previously been in front of him slumped against the wall opposite him, looking just as bewildered as Gavin felt.

But then he slowly twisted his head up to look at Gavin, a shocked but knowing look on his face, and Gavin's heart sunk as he realised what had happened.

He had used his power.

He hadn't even meant to. It was beyond his control. He'd never lost control of his power before, but now he had and in the worst possible way. He had used it to throw a man at a wall. A man who worked for the king. With a witness, who also worked for the king. Gavin lifted his hand to his mouth in shock as it sunk in just what kind of situation he had put himself in.

The guard slowly got to his feet, and all Gavin could think was _run. Run, run, run and don't look back._

But Ryan was there, trapped, helpless. Gavin couldn't leave him. Even if he did manage to get away, they would just hurt Ryan more for being with him. This was Gavin's fault; he wouldn't run this time.

The stunned look that was on the guard's face was gone by the time he was standing, and instead what had replaced it was a look that showed he knew exactly what he had gotten his hands on. And he was very happy about it.

Then he was moving towards Gavin, and Gavin didn't know what to do.

He was too scared to use his power again. He had already blown his cover, but it felt as if he did use it again, he would make the whole situation worse. If the situation could get any worse. His head was all over the place and he didn't even know if he could find it in himself to use it again.

All he could do was fight or accept his fate. What would even be his fate? He was either going to be captured or killed right here and now. Neither sounded ideal, and he knew he couldn't just accept either without a fight. He was a creeper after all. Even when they wouldn't attack, they would at least defend.

Suddenly, Gavin was hit with the reminder that he was given something that would help him in this very situation.

The dagger that Michael gave him.

Gavin couldn't love him anymore as he grabbed the dagger out of its sheath. He didn't realise that he had never used one, however, until he was holding it out towards the approaching man. He didn't have time to think about it before the guard was in front of him, not even concerned at the weapon pointed right at him.

He went to grab Gavin, and Gavin just swiped the dagger towards him. The guard saw it coming and simply dodged out of the way and continued his advances.

Panicking, Gavin went to slash the dagger at the man again, but instead of moving out of the way the guard just grabbed Gavin's wrist. He started to twist it, but Gavin refused to let go, the weapon his only chance of survival. Gavin tried to grab the other man's wrist, wanting to rip his hold off of Gavin like Ryan had done, but it was as if the guard was always two steps ahead of Gavin. He grabbed Gavin's other wrist and wrenched it away before it had even made contact.

"There's no point in fightin'. You're not getting away."

The guard move to slam Gavin into the side of the alley. As his back hit the wall, the dagger was knocked from his hand.

"You are _exactly_ what I need."

And then he was moving to grab at Gavin's head, to presumably smash it into the wall like the other guard did to Ryan, but he had released one of Gavin's wrists to do so. Gavin took this opportunity to pull his other arm away and move away from the wall, but the guard was still too quick and instead looped his foot around the back of Gavin's leg and sent Gavin to the floor.

Gavin felt the wind get knocked out of him as he made contact with the ground. Everything seemed to blur together as his head hit the floor. He laid there, stunned for a moment, before his vision focused and he saw the guard move towards him again. Gavin tried to push himself away, but his hand brushed against something sharp on the ground.

The dagger.

Gavin quickly grabbed it as the guard moved down to kneel over him, and for once the guard didn't notice as he swiftly moved the dagger through the air and stabbed the guard in the arm.

The guard yelled as the dagger made contact, but it didn't slow him down as much as Gavin had hoped. If anything, it just made the guard angrier and move quicker.

"You little _bitch_." The guard tightly grabbed hold of Gavin's shirt, the dagger still in him arm like it was nothing more than a pin. "I'm gonna make you pay for that."

And then Gavin felt himself be lifted from the floor. He saw the guard looming over him, that evil smirk back on his face, before Gavin was slammed back down, hard. His head smacked against the floor, and then all that was left was darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to my best bud Hannah (MusicPhoenix) for helping me come up with a tavern name!


	9. Worse Than Death

When Gavin woke up, it was to an ache in his head and a weight on his wrists. He found himself lying on some sort of cold, hard ground, and he decided to lie there for a few more moments, willing the ringing in his ears to stop.

When he felt the pain in his head start to pass slightly, he opened his eyes to find out where the hell he was.

The first thing he saw was that the wall across from him was made up of metal bars that ran all the way from the floor to the ceiling. The floor and walls were made of a hard concrete, and there were no windows to cast any light into the room. Just a couple of torches lined the walls on the other side on the bars, which allowed Gavin to take in his surroundings.

It was a prison cell.

Gavin shot up as he suddenly realised where he was, but he had to immediately shut his eyes as a wave of nausea washed over him from not only his fast movement, but also from the memory of what had happened to get himself into this situation.

He went to rub his eyes, to try and scrape the dizziness away, but when he went to move his hands, he was reminded of the weight on his wrists that were restricting his movements. He opened his eyes and found that wrapped around his wrists were thick, metal handcuffs with carvings all over it. Attached to the handcuffs was a heavy chain, and when Gavin followed the chain, he found that it connected to one of the walls of the cell. He tried to shake the handcuffs off or wiggle his hands out, but they didn't budge.

Gavin cast his eyes over the rest of the cell, but there was nothing else in there except for him.

It was quite spacious for there being only him in there, but by looking at the length of the chain, Gavin suspected that he wouldn't be able to reach most of the room.

Gavin jumped as he was startled by a loud noise coming from deep within the dungeon, followed by yelling. It was too far away for Gavin to hear what was being said, but it made him shrink further into himself as his mind started to run wild with images of what kinds of people would also be in these cells.

Gavin felt his heart sink as he remembered that he didn't get into this situation alone. Ryan was with him. And now he could be in his own cell, waking up like Gavin to find that he was alone. If he was here, where would his cell be? Could it be right next to Gavin's, or was it far away? Was it him who was yelling before?

Or maybe he was much, much further away. So far because he wasn't even captured like Gavin, just left in the alleyway. Would he be left alive? Dead? Would he be captured and _then_ killed?

Gavin tried to take a shaky breath as his thoughts were becoming too much. Too many possibilities of what could be real.

Then, there were footsteps approaching from down the corridor, and any air that Gavin had managed to breathe in was sucked out of him.

The steps were getting louder and closer. An all too familiar sound of metal had joined them. The guards' armour. Gavin drew his knees up to tuck himself as far into the wall as he could, hoping that whoever it was would just ignore him and keep on walking past.

That hope was short-lived as shadows made their way into his line of sight, which were soon followed by dark silhouettes that paused on the other side of the prison bars.

There was a clinking of metal, and then some of the bars opened to reveal a doorway into the cell. One of the silhouettes grabbed a torch off the wall, and without saying a word they all entered the cell.

As they got closer, the light of the torch shone on their faces and Gavin got a better look at who was standing in front of him.

There were three of them. Two of them were guards, the armour on their bodies reflected what little light there was and cast it around the room. When Gavin looked up at their faces, he felt slightly relieved as he saw that they were not the guards from the tavern.

They were standing slightly behind the third figure who was between the two of them.

Gavin didn't suspect he was a guard like the other two. He wasn't dressed like them. He wore armour, but it wasn't as big or bulky like what Gavin had seen before. His looked like it was made specially for him. It was shaped and curved around his body, accentuating whatever assets he had beneath it, and was sleek and made little noise when he moved. The clothes he wore under it were made of a fine material and looked much more expensive than anything anyone else in this city wore. There wasn't a crease or speck of dirt found on him, and he was clean shaven and his hair was cut perfectly. All in all, he seemed very put together.

Not only was it the way he looked different from the other two, but it was also the way he held himself that made Gavin think he was somehow the one in charge here. A higher rank than just a palace guard.

He stood there, in front on the guards with his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes scanned over Gavin, and Gavin stared back, wide eyed and feeling like he was being judged.

And then the silence was broken as the man started to laugh, loud and boisterous. He shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, and Gavin just felt confused. What was so funny?

"I can't believe those bastards did it," the man finally said, laughter still in his voice. "They really got one."

A creeper. That's what they had got. A creeper who was too foolish and got himself captured. Used his power to get himself into this situation but couldn't use it to get himself out.

His power. He still had it, he could still use it. They already knew who he was, so what did he really have to lose. It wouldn't be long before they decide to kill him; he was surprised they had gone through the effort of putting him in jail first.

He only felt more instigated to use it when the man in front of him crouched down to his level and leant in close to get a better look at him. He just wanted him to get away, he didn't want to know what they had planned for him.

He closed his eyes and brought forward the familiar rumble and static he felt in his head, but when he tried to let out the explosion, he was met with a burning pain coming from his wrists.

He darted his eyes to the handcuffs around his wrists and found that the carvings in them were glowing a slight purple.

He stared at them in confusion, wondering why they had hurt him and how they had stopped him from trying to use his power, before the man in front of him spoke again.

"Ah, I guess you're not familiar with those," he gestured to the cuffs as he leaned back on his heels. "Not that I would expect you to, being what you are and all."

Gavin somehow found it in himself through the pain to give the man a _'what is that supposed to mean?'_ look.

"Let me explain it for you," the man stood up and started to walk back and forth through the cell as he talked. "We once had the pleasure of capturing an enchanter. We found them trying to sneak into the city. They weren't very smart, didn't even make it past the gates before we got them, but what would you really expect from an enchanter?" He laughed again.

"And you can just imagine my delight when I found out that their magic involved _charming_ of all things!" The man turned on his heel and faced Gavin as he started gesturing with everything he said. "So, of course we decided to make use of it before we, well, you know."

He ran his finger along his throat with a smile, and Gavin flinched. He knew just what would have happened to them.

"So, we used it to charm those cuffs you're wearing right now, made it so that whoever is wearing them cannot use any magic, and when they do they'll feel a slight...pinch. A little warning that they shouldn't even try and escape." He leant forward as he spoke the last sentence, a serious look on his face as he stared straight at Gavin, like he wanted Gavin to take the hint.

"I'm actually a little disappointed we only got the one pair, but sadly the enchanter was gone before they could make more."

Gavin knew that the man was only sad about how he couldn't use the enchanter for more of his sadistic plans, not because they died. But Gavin did feel a small speck of hope at his statement. If there was only one pair, then if Ryan was in this dungeon with him, he wouldn't be prevented from using his magic and he could use it to help them escape.

The man in front of Gavin shot back upright again, a smile breaking out on his face. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot to introduce myself! The name's Admus. In case you've never heard of me, I'm sort of the second in command around here. That means I call the shots. And if something isn't of use to me, then there's no point in keeping it around, is there?"

His last few words held a lot of meaning and Admus knew he didn't need to explain it any further. Gavin got the message.

"Well, I've got some things to take care of, but I'll be back. You should get comfortable; you're going to be here for a while."

And with that, Admus turned around and made his way out of the cell, the two guards following right behind him. They locked the cell door behind them and placed the torch back where they took it from the wall.

Just like that, Gavin was alone again in the dark. The pain in his wrists had lessoned a bit, but they burned along with the continuous pounding of his head. Gavin closed his eyes and pulled his knees even closer to his chest, if that was even possible, and rested his chin on them and tried not to think about all the possibilities of what was to come.

He really hoped he was right. He really hoped Ryan would get him out of this.

Gavin didn't know how much time had passed since Admus and the guards had left. He hadn't seen anyone since, and with no window he couldn't tell whether it was day or night. He couldn't even know how long it had been between the tavern and when he had woken up here.

He might have fallen asleep at some point; he wasn't quite sure. It's not like it was exactly easy to sleep with his mind still racing with ideas of what could happen, but he already felt so exhausted that falling asleep was a possibility.

There had been no sign of Ryan either. With every second that passed, any hope that Gavin had of getting away was slowly diminishing. Ryan was either never brought here in the first place, or they had found another way to stop him from using his powers.

Or maybe he hated Gavin. It was his fault that they had gotten into this situation. Him and his stupid lack of controlling his power.

Ryan had probably found his own way out and left Gavin alone. It was what he deserved. And now he had to face whatever was to come next.

Not long later, he began to hear footsteps approaching again. He started to feel a sickness in his stomach as he knew that whatever was to come wasn't going to be good.

A few moments passed, and then the owners of the footsteps appeared outside of his cell.

There were three of them again, but through the dim light Gavin couldn't quite tell who they were. It wasn't until they entered his cell with a torch again that Gavin got a better look at them, and his heart sunk when he saw who it was.

Admus was back, with a woman who Gavin hadn't seen yet, but that wasn't what got him anxious.

The third person with them was the guard from the tavern.

"I'm back!" Admus announced as he approached him. "I hope you didn't miss me too much."

If Gavin never saw him again it would be too soon.

"Anyways, you've already met Mac here." He pointed to the guard behind him, who smirked at Gavin in return. "But I don't believe you've met my good friend Doctor Erma."

He gestured to the woman standing next to him. She looked the very definition of cold. Her hair was pulled tightly back and there wasn't a hint of a smile on her face. Her sharp eyes were a light blue, like ice. She stood straight and her hands were by her sides, a small case in one of them. Gavin dreaded to think what was inside of it.

Admus broke him out of his staring as he leant forward slightly and whispered, "I'll let you in on a little secret. She's not really a doctor."

And with that, Admus stepped back and Erma stepped forward. She didn't say a word as she knelt down in front of him and opened up her case. Gavin tried to move further away, but that was fruitless because he was already as close to the wall behind him as he could get.

"You know, Mac, I was a little disappointed in you guys. I know I sent you out to get rid of them, but I thought you would at least be able to bring one of them back. Not only that, you told me that a lot got away!"

Gavin darted his eyes from where he was watching Erma rummage through her case, to the two men standing behind her. Did he say that some of the creepers got away?

"But I'll let you off for this one," Admus waved a hand in Gavin's general direction, acting like he wasn't even there, like he didn't even matter. "We can finally do some...experiments, just like I wanted."

Admus turned to stare at Gavin, and Gavin-

Gavin couldn't think, couldn't breathe. He wanted the woman in front of him to get away as she finally produced a small glass vial from her case. All he wanted to do was blast the woman away from him, to blast them all away and get himself out of this place.

Instead of watching their bodies be thrown across the room, he was instead met with the burning pain around his wrists again.

The woman in front of him ignored his struggles and turned around to face the other two. "I need something sharp."

"I have just the thing." Mac reached to grab something from his belt, and brought forward something Gavin had almost forgotten about.

It was the dagger from Michael. It was like some cruel joke that a gift from Michael would be used against him.

Seeing it brought a longing, a want to be back with his newfound friend. He missed Michael dearly, he hadn't ever felt as close to someone as he did to him. Gavin felt like he had betrayed him. Michael had given him that dagger to protect himself, and he couldn't even do that. It broke his heart to think that he might never see Michael again, that Michael wouldn't know what happened to him. He didn't want to do that to him.

That thought gave him a feeling of defiance. Michael wouldn't go down without a fight, and neither would he.

The woman reached forward to grab Gavin's hand, and he shot his leg out to kick her away. He hit her in the chest, and she fell backwards and landed on the floor. Gavin went to reach for the vial that was in her hand and smash it before she could use it, but before he could do anything else, he was suddenly sent to the ground too as Admus punched him round the face. Admus grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him back up into a sitting position.

Gavin tried to escape his hold. He brought his arms up to hit the man in the face with the metal handcuffs, but the heavy weight made him too slow and Admus saw it coming. With one hand he continued to hold Gavin by the shirt, and with the other he grabbed Gavin's hands to hold them still. Gavin tried to kick out again, his legs now being the only free body part, and he felt his foot make contact with someone before they were grabbed and held still by Mac.

Erma had picked herself up of the floor, still with a tight grasp on the vial that was still in one piece. She reached for the dagger that was now on the floor next to her, and then went to grab Gavin's hand.

Gavin tried to pull away, but it was impossible with Admus' tight grasp keeping him in place. Erma grabbed hold of Gavin's left hand, and without hesitation she sliced the dagger through his palm.

Gavin winced at the pain. Not even a second later, blood started to ooze down his hand. Erma placed the vial underneath his hand and watched as it started to fill up with his blood. Gavin whimpered as she held his hand tightly, trying to squeeze the blood out faster.

After several moments, the vial was over halfway full. Erma seemed like she was satisfied with that amount as she took a look at the vial and nodded once, before she let go of Gavin's hand.

Admus and Mac seemed to take this as their cue to let go of him as well, believing that he wouldn't struggle anymore now that it was over. Gavin immediately curled up and held his hand close, his other hand pressed against it to stop the bleeding.

Erma placed a lid on the top of the vial and put it back in her case. She closed her case, stood up, and began to make her way back through the opening of the cell.

"Don't be too sad about it," Admus said as he stood up and began to follow Erma out of the cell. "We're just going to do a few tests, you just best hope that's all the blood we need."

"Don't worry 'bout it, darling." Mac reached for the dagger on the floor and put it back onto his belt. "Sure, that's not even the worse of what's to come." He made his way out of the cell and locked it behind him, but he didn't walk away quite yet.

"But it'll all be over soon."

And then he left, and just like that Gavin was alone again once more.

At some point, Gavin had moved himself over into the corner of the room, trying to tuck himself into the darkness as much as he could. He missed his creeper clothes more than ever. He was able to hide himself away in them. He tried to make do with the clothes Geoff and Jack had given him. He pulled the hood over his face to shut everything else out. He tried to think about how it felt like they were surrounding him, enveloping him with their warmth.

His hand had eventually stopped bleeding, but it still hurt a lot. He held it close to his chest as he tucked himself up.

Any hope of Ryan coming to get him was almost gone. He wouldn't blame Ryan for leaving him. Gavin almost hoped he had abandoned him, as the only other reasons for him not showing up were either that they were doing the same thing to Ryan as they were doing to Gavin, or he wasn't even around anymore...

Gavin suddenly felt overwhelmed with the feeling of being alone. It was all his fault. He had dug his grave and now he must lie in it. He would die here, or worse and be kept alive just for them to do experiments on him until he was deemed no longer useful.

His legs had started to ache slightly after having been folded up so tight for a while. He went to stretch his legs out to get the blood circulating again, but when he moved a light fell out of his pocket and caught his eye. He cast his eyes down towards the small light, and when he realised what it was, he felt a small sense of happiness for the first time in a while.

It was the light in this endless darkness.

It was a solaber.

Gavin had completely forgotten that he had slipped it into his pocket the morning that they set off for Ozryon. It may have seemed a little pointless, but there was comfort in the knowledge that there was a little light in his pocket. A little flower that Jack had made just for him.

It made him feel like not just Jack, but Geoff as well, were close to him. Like they had joined them on this journey.

And now, it was like they were here with him in this cell. They were company without being in danger.

He was alone without being alone.

Not that much time had passed before Gavin heard footsteps outside of his cell again.

When he had found the solaber, it had been shining quite brightly, but now it had started to dim down. From what Jack had told him, Gavin realised that the sun was rising, and it was now becoming morning.

Gavin quickly tucked the flower back into his pocket, fearing that if someone caught him with it, they would take it away or destroy it.

The steps sounded fast, like the person approaching was in a hurry. A moment later, a figure appeared outside of his cell, but they suddenly stopped. They stood on the other side of the bars and cast quick glances up and down the hallway, like they were doing something they shouldn't and feared they were going to be caught. Then, they hastily fumbled with the lock and the cell door swung open.

The figure was another guard, but there was something about him that made him seem different from the other guards that Gavin had seen. He seemed skittish as he made his way over to Gavin, not cool and composed like everyone else who had entered his cell. He just seemed like whatever he was here for he wanted to do it fast, like he shouldn't even be here.

He wore the uniform of a guard, but other than that he didn't seem authoritative in the slightest, and it was with that that made Gavin hesitate as he went to move away from the man.

When the man got closer, Gavin realised that he was trying to carry a few things in his hands. The man fumbled with them as he knelt down next to Gavin and almost dropped them all over the floor. Gavin could almost laugh at his clumsiness if the situation wasn't so dire.

The man carefully placed what he was holding on the ground and looked up at Gavin for the first time. His eyes went wide, like he had only just realised who was in front of him.

"Um, hi," the man gave him a small smile and a wave.

Gavin was confused. This man actually sounded _nervous_. What did he have to be nervous of? Gavin was the one who should've been fearing for his life. Scared for whatever this man was here for.

"Hi?" Gavin replied quietly. He almost didn't say anything, but perhaps it was the way the man still had a warm smile on his face that made Gavin feel intrigued as to what this man was here for.

The man faltered and he looked startled, like he wasn't expecting Gavin to actually reply, but then his smile was back and looked even brighter.

"I don't really have time to explain, and I know this is going to seem strange and you're probably not going to trust me, but I'm going to get you out of here."

This time Gavin didn't say anything, just looked at the man in disbelief. Was he serious?

"Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but you gotta trust me," the man went to rummage through the stuff he had placed on the floor, and then produced a set of keys. "And I trust you, okay?"

The man slowly reached forward and grasped Gavin's handcuffs and pulled them closer to himself. "If I didn't mean what I said, would I do this?"

And then there was a click as the man inserted a key and unlocked the cuffs. Gavin's wrists suddenly felt a whole lot lighter, but there was still an ache in them from how the cuffs had burnt and bruised them. He lifted them closer and tried to see how they looked, but it was too dark.

"If you were anything like they said you were, you would have blown me up by now," the man laughed. "Good job I trusted you, right?"

And Gavin smiled back. There was a voice in the back of his head that said he shouldn't trust this man, that he was being lulled into a false sense of security. But if that was the case, then Gavin wanted to at least enjoy this small moment of happiness. It may be the last one he gets.

"Oh, yeah, um," the man began to fumble around with the things in front of him again and grabbed what looked like a roll of bandages. "I figured you wouldn't get out of this unscathed." He gestured towards Gavin's sore wrists and blood-covered hands. "Can I?"

Gavin watched him for a moment before he hesitantly nodded. The man reached forward and took Gavin's left hand in his.

"Whilst I do this, you can drink this."

He picked up a small water flask and handed it over to Gavin. Gavin looked at it suspiciously, wondering if this is what this whole interaction had been leading up to and this will be when he poisons Gavin.

The man seemed to sense his hesitation as he laughed and said, "it's just water."

Gavin sniffed the contents suspiciously, and then had a tentative sip. It did taste just like water.

He continued to sip on the drink whilst the man bandaged up his hand, but then the man stopped and looked up towards Gavin, that smile still ever present.

"I almost forgot, I'm Jeremy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh who dis be?


	10. Escapades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's see if this Jeremy fella is trustworthy then, eh?

When Ryan woke up, he immediately knew where he was. He was in the palace's dungeon.

It wasn't like he had been there before and he knew just what it looked like, but it made perfect sense. He could already tell he was in a cell, and the cell would have to be in some sort of prison. The last thing he could recall was fighting guards before his memory just went blank. Those guards had been from the palace, so of course if they were going to take them to a dungeon, it would be the one under the man who was in charge.

It was very dark and there were no windows, so he couldn't tell how long he had been unconscious for. What he did know was that he had been awake for a while, and he had not seen a single person.

They clearly didn't think he was much of a threat as there were no guards constantly keeping watch on him outside his cell. They hadn't even bothered to handcuff him.

That was good. That would make it easier to escape. All he needed was someone to walk by. Someone hopefully with keys.

At some point he had started to pace the cell, his legs having started to fall asleep after sitting down too long. Whilst he paced, he thought of Gavin. If Ryan was in here, then there was a good chance Gavin was too. He wasn't really sure why they were brought here, a row outside of a tavern seemed like it wasn't worth hauling the two of them over here.

Perhaps they had found out what they really were. If that was the case, Ryan was really concerned about Gavin's wellbeing. There were several things they could do if they found a creeper in their midst. None of them were good.

And all this was Ryan's fault. He had told Gavin he wouldn't let anything happen to him, that he was safe with him. He needed to get him out.

Ryan did have one thing in his favour. The fact that he had been left alone and allowed to roam around his cell gave him the hope that they didn't know of his magic.

What had felt like hours of pacing, although it probably hadn't quite been that long, Ryan began to hear voices drift from down the hallway. He made his way over to the entrance of his cell and leant on the bars as he waited for the owners of the voices to make their appearance.

Not even a minute later and they had reached his cell. They ignored him standing there and just continued their conversation as they walked past.

"Hey!" Ryan called to get their attention. The guards stopped their conversation and looked at Ryan like he had just interrupted them on the most important conversation that they had ever had.

"Mind if I could get some water or something?"

The guards rolled their eyes and turned to away to continue their conversation.

That was a no, then. It didn't matter anyways, Ryan only wanted to stop them briefly to see if they had some keys on them, and they did. He only hoped that at least one of them was for his cell.

The guards went to keep on walking, unaware that the man behind them was staring at them with narrowed, red eyes.

Ryan concentrated his magic on the two of them. They hadn't even taken a step before he forced them to stop and turn around. He could feel their emotions, their shock and confusion. He sent a wash of calmness over them, it was easier to control their actions when their emotions weren't all over the place, and made one of them reach down to the keys attached to their belt.

This was the tricky bit; Ryan didn't know what key on the chain was for his cell. There were quite a number of them, and Ryan assumed there was one for each cell. How the hell did anyone remember which key was for which lock?

Ryan tried to keep his patience as he forced the guard to try each key for his cell. He couldn't become frustrated, or his concentration on his magic would slip and he risked letting the guards out of his hold.

After painstakingly going through several of the keys, Ryan watched as the next key was inserted into the lock and actually turned in the lock, and then with a click the door opened.

With a sigh of relief, Ryan stepped out of the cell and grabbed the keys from the guard, making sure that he kept a hold of the specific one for his cell.

He then sent the guards into the cell, their steps slow and sluggish as they dragged their feet along the floor, like zombies.

He locked the door behind them, and then sent them face first into the cell wall, knocking them both out. It would hurt when they woke up, but they would be fine. They would be very annoyed and perhaps stuck in here for a while until someone walked past or noticed they were missing, but it gave Ryan enough time to find Gavin, if he was here, and find some way out.

After a few minutes of Ryan wandering through the dungeon, he realised how much of a maze it was. There were too many twists and turns, too many cells to peek in and look for Gavin. Most of them were empty, and Ryan hurried passed the ones that were occupied after he concluded Gavin was not in them.

His search was becoming futile the longer it took him to find Gavin. Even if he did find him, he had no idea how the hell to find the exit out of there. He didn't even think he would be able to find the way back to his own cell.

Several more minutes of unsuccessful searching passed, and then Ryan turned down a hallway and slowed down as he heard hushed voices drifting from a cell close by. Ryan slowly approached, not wanting to alert whoever it was to his presence in case they were guards.

When Ryan reached the cell, he saw that the door was open. Curious, he peered into the cell, and he felt a weight leave his shoulders when he saw who was in the cell.

_Gavin._

His brow furrowed when he saw that there was a man knelt over him. Ryan quietly watched, unsure what the man was doing, whether he was hurting Gavin or something. Gavin didn't look like he was in pain or anything, he was actually smiling at the man in front of him.

However, it seemed that he wasn't as well hidden as he thought, as a moment later Gavin looked up and caught Ryan’s eye. He stared at Ryan for a moment and looked a little nervous, like he didn't know who it was. The man in front of him seemed to notice Gavin staring, as he turned around to look at Ryan too.

Seeing that his cover was blown, he stepped further into the cell. As he got closer, Gavin seemed to realise who was. His eyebrows rose and a wide smile broke out onto his face.

"Ryan!"

Gavin quickly got up and ran over to Ryan, nearly stumbling on the way. He wrapped his arms around him tightly, and Ryan held him back.

"I'm so glad you're okay! I thought they had hurt you! O-or killed you!"

"Shh, it's okay," Ryan rubbed Gavin's back and pulled him closer to stop his rambling. "I'm okay."

Gavin held onto him for a few more seconds before he nodded and let go. He still looked like he wanted to grasp onto Ryan again, but he drew in a long, shaky breath through his nose and steeled himself, like he was trying to seem braver than he actually felt. Ryan felt proud at him for trying, despite whatever had just happened to him. Speaking of...

"Are _you_ okay?" Ryan grasped Gavin's shoulders and held him in out in front of him. It was hard to get a good look at him though; it was still very dark.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

Gavin reached for Ryan's hands on his shoulders, but it was then that Ryan saw the bandages around his wrists.

"What happened?" Ryan gently pulled Gavin's hands closer to get a better look. From what he could see in the light, he could see blood on his hands peeking out from beneath the bandages, but thankfully it looked dry and he didn't seem to be bleeding anymore.

"I don't mean to break this up, but we really need to go."

Ryan had completely forgotten about the man who had been silently standing next to them this whole time. He quickly stepped between the man and Gavin.

"And who are you?"

"Ryan, this is Jeremy. He says he can help us escape!" Gavin stepped out from behind Ryan and tugged on his sleeve. "We can trust him, he bandaged me up!"

That reason alone wasn't really a good enough reason to trust somebody, especially with their lives like they were doing here. Who was to say that this Jeremy guy wasn't just going to lead them straight into a trap?

"Gavin, I don't think-"

"If I was really out to get you, don't you think I would have done something about you escaping your own cell by now?" Jeremy cut in and raised an eyebrow at Ryan. "Look, I know you're not gonna trust me just like that, but if you really want to leave, you need to go now. And, no offence, if you don't go with me, do you really think you will find your way out of here?"

Jeremy smiled as Ryan gave him a sheepish look, clearly aware of the struggle Ryan went through just to make it to Gavin. "I know the way out. Not just out of the dungeon, but out of the city. If you let me lead you out now, we can make it out of the city, fifteen minutes tops."

Ryan watched Jeremy for a moment, trying to work out what his motive was. This seemed like a pretty big effort to go through if it was all just for some ruse. Ryan didn't understand why someone in Jeremy's position would risk it all just to be nice.

"What's in this for you?"

Jeremy's face hardened and he stood up straighter, more confident, like it was a question he had been waiting to be asked for a while and he had prepared his answer long ago.

"Nothing, I just can't stand to see him hurt anyone else anymore."

Ryan took a shot in the dark. "'Him' being...the king?"

Jeremy nodded, and so Ryan decided to take another chance. If Gavin seemed like he trusted Jeremy, then Ryan was willing try to as well. He could always use his magic if Jeremy started to go a little awry.

"Show us the way."

Gavin smiled and cheered quietly, and Ryan stepped out of the way to let Jeremy get by.

Jeremy seemed to lighten up at his statement and he began to move forward.

"Let's go."

Jeremy quickly led them through the maze that was the dungeons. He was right, if Ryan and Gavin tried to make it out of here alone there was no way they would make it out before being caught.

"I'm sorry I didn't come and get you guys sooner, but by the time I heard about you guys it was already evening. I'm sure you know about how strict the guards are at letting people in and out of the city at night?" Jeremy cast a quick glance to them from where he was walking in front. They nodded back, and Jeremy continued, "I had to wait until morning, which is what it is now, by the way. Not sure if you knew that from being down here."

Jeremy rounded a corner and continued down another hallway, Ryan and Gavin close behind.

"There's not that many guards around this early in the morning, most of them are getting breakfast. There's only really a couple who are in charge of guarding the entrances and exits of the dungeon. Thankfully, I just happened to be guarding one of the entrances today, _and_ it just so happens to be the one that leads out the back of the castle. It's usually just used for getting prisoners into the dungeon without anybody at the front of the castle seeing anything, sort of like they're a dirty little secret. The king has to keep up his appearances after all!" Jeremy gestured to nothing in particular around them. "There's never usually anyone around most of the time, so no one would've even noticed I was gone."

Then Jeremy stopped as they reached the end of the hallway.

"Here we are!"

Jeremy gestured to the door that sat at the end of the hallway, and then began to search for the right key to open the lock on the door.

"Seems like a bit of a coincidence that you just happened to be guarding the best exit for us?" Ryan raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms as he watched Jeremy produce the correct key and fumble with the lock.

"I know how it looks, believe me I do, but you really just have to trust that this did just work out like this." Jeremy fumbled with the key once more, and then the door was open. "Plus, I might have convinced one of the other guards to switch shifts with me..."

Jeremy pulled the door open, and on the other side was spiral staircase. It was dark and dingy, and Ryan grimaced at the thought of them dragging Gavin and him through here.

They stepped through the door, Jeremy locking it behind them, and then they made their way up the stairs. There were quite a number of steps to climb as the dungeon was quite deep underground, but eventually they reached the top.

The stairs led out into a tiny room. There wasn't much in there, just a small table and chair, and a door on the other side of the room. There was even a little window that cast a small bit of natural light into the room. Ryan suspected that this was where Jeremy would've been if he was actually guarding the exit like he should've been.

Jeremy walked over to the table and pulled out something from underneath it. Ryan tensed, ready in case this was when Jeremy finally turned on them and pulled out a weapon, but when Jeremy turned and showed them what he was holding, Ryan felt a sense of relief at the familiarity of it.

Jeremy was holding onto their bags.

"Figured you might want these back?" Jeremy held out their bags towards them, and Ryan and Gavin took them back. "The other guards are idiots, really. They just left them out here and I tucked them to the side, so they didn't get any ideas about taking anything. I also took the liberty of refilling your water flasks, I hope you don't mind."

Ryan opened up his bag and felt himself let out a chuckle as he saw what was still inside.

"I thought all that food I bought had gone to waste. I wonder if it's still edible."

"I don't care, I'll eat anything right now."

Ryan laughed at Gavin's reply, knowing just how he felt.

"I hope you can wait until we make it past the gates, it's not long to go now," Jeremy said as he made his way over to the door. When he unlocked it and opened it up, Ryan was blinded by the light that shone through the doorway.

His eyes weren't used to sunshine after being in a dark cell for a while. He squinted his eyes and held a hand up in front of them to block some of the light out whilst they tried to adjust to all the sudden light.

When his eyes began to adjust and he could see a little clearer, he took in his surroundings.

They were standing at the bottom of a round tower that appeared to be attached to the wall surrounding the palace. The door at the bottom of the tower led out onto what seemed like the back of some buildings at the edge of the city, _outside_ of the palace walls.

"How are we already out of the palace?"

"Those hallways through the dungeons I led you through run all the way beneath the palace and out to here."

"Seems a little unsafe to have such as easily accessible entrance into the palace that's only guarded by one person."

Jeremy shrugged. "Hey, I wasn't the one who designed the place, just be thankful that whoever it was probably just saved your lives."

Ryan grimaced at the reminder of what could have happened if they hadn't of gotten out.

"The gates aren't far from here, it'll only take us a few minutes."

Jeremy started to head towards the walls of the city that were nearby, but Ryan stayed standing where he was, his brow beginning to furrow.

"Wait, aren't the gates on the other side of the city to where the castle is? You're walking in the complete opposite direction."

Jeremy stopped and turned around when he realised he wasn't being followed.

"Oh, yeah, there's actually two entrances into the city."

"What?"

Jeremy laughed at the shocked look on Ryan's face. "Yeah, a lot of people just use the main entrance, but there's a smaller one near here that leads straight out into a village. It's pretty small, so not many people use it, but it'll be easier to get there than to try and sneak you two through the whole city."

Ryan just continued to stare at Jeremy, bewildered. Sure, he had only come to this city a handful of times, but how had he never heard of it until now?

"I know what you're thinking," Jeremy cut him out of his thoughts. "It wasn't built _too_ long ago. Some people were getting annoyed that they had to go around the whole of the outside of the city to get inside, so they built a smaller entrance this side."

Jeremy turned back around, clearly expecting them to follow. "I have no reason to lie to you at this point, do I? You're already partially out, don't let this stop you from going all the way."

And then he started to walk again. Gavin shrugged at Ryan and began to follow Jeremy. Ryan tried to not let any trust issues get in the way of them and this final hurdle. Jeremy had helped them so far, and so with that, Ryan followed him too.

Jeremy led them down a street that wound around the backs of several buildings. They were at the very outskirts of the city, the wall almost directly next to them.

At some point, they started to see more people around, and then sure enough, as they rounded a corner, they saw another exit out of the city.

As Jeremy said, this entrance was nowhere near as big as the one they had come through. There was only one single door, as opposed to the two doors of the other gate. There were still guards at this gate though, and Ryan hesitated slightly as they approached the gate.

"They shouldn't know who you guys are," Jeremy spoke up and alleviated Ryan's nerves a bit, apparently aware of what Ryan was thinking. "The guards at the palace don't tend to talk to the guards in the city that often, and they definitely fail to mention every person who's been put in the dungeons."

"Sounds like some sort of rivalry between the guards," Ryan joked.

"You're not too far off," Jeremy laughed. "The guards in the palace think they're better than the ones in the city, the ones in the city think they're better than the ones in the palace, it's a whole thing." At this he waved his arms around. "But let's not get into that right now, let's just focus on getting out of here. I'm gonna go distract the guards, just in case. You'll be able to sneak right past."

They continued to walk closer to the gate, and then Jeremy walked straight up to the two other guards. Ryan didn't know what was being said, he was concentrating too much on just getting past the gate. A moment later, there was laughing coming from the group and a lot of patting each other on the back, like good friends reuniting.

Ryan then felt the press of someone close next to him. He looked down and found Gavin trying to tuck himself into his side. Ryan smiled down to him, he probably felt just as anxious as Ryan. Ryan put an arm around him and guided them both to the gate.

And just like that, they were through and out. It was so simple and easy, it seemed so ridiculous to have been scared in the first place. They had literally just walked right out of their cells and out of the city. Sure, they had Jeremy, but that seemed ridiculous just on its own. A guard, a guard who worked in the palace, actually willingly helped them out, and something about that just still seemed so strange, so out of place. And now that guard was walking towards them, a big smile on his face.

"I didn't lie, did I? I told you, you can trust me!"

"Shh," Ryan hushed Jeremy from his loud excitement. Like Jeremy said, this gate led literally right into a small village. There were a number of people milling around, some heading in and out of the city. They really did not want someone being suspicious of them when they had gotten this far.

Ryan had a glance around and found a quiet area between some buildings and directed them over towards it. Now that they were in a less populated area and not pressed for time, they could finally have a proper conversation.

"Why did you help us?" Ryan immediately turned to Jeremy. Jeremy hadn't given them much of a reason as to why he would risk himself so much just to help a couple of misfits.

"Like I said, I can't stand to see the king hurt anyone like you anymore."

"That's still not a good enough reason to do what you did. You're in a good position working under the king, why would you risk that?"

"Because..." Jeremy hesitated and looked down. His face twisted, before he spoke. "Because my dad...he was just like you."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Like us, how?"

Jeremy looked up, a knowing look on his face. "I know you're an enchanter, Ryan," he whispered.

Ryan took a startled step back. It was clear the other guards didn't know, so how did Jeremy?

"How do you-"

"They might not have seen it, but I _know_ when I see an enchanter, even if they don't _look_ like one."

Jeremy sighed as he leant back against the wall closest to him. "I can't see any other innocent person go just like-"

Jeremy's breath hitched. Ryan could guess what he was going to say. "Like your dad?"

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah...the king, he found out about him. I still don't know how, my dad was so careful. He would never leave the house, and even if he did, he made sure no one was around. Then, one day some guards came barging through the door, and they just took him. I found out a few weeks later that he was dead."

Gavin stepped forward and placed a hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "That's horrible, I'm sorry."

Jeremy smiled at the comfort Gavin was trying to provide. "It's okay. It still hurts, but I've gotten used to it now. I became a guard mostly because I needed the money, and they provide you with a place to live, but then I thought that maybe I could use it to help in some way. To stop the king from hurting anyone else. I haven't actually done anything before today though."

His voice drifted off, but Ryan didn't want him to think that what he had done was in vain. Even if it was the only time he had helped someone, Ryan was very thankful that it was him and Gavin who he decided to save.

Ryan stepped forward. "Jeremy, thank you. I don't know what we would have done without you."

Jeremy smiled, but it quickly turned back into a frown as he looked back towards the city.

"I don't think I can go back there. If they find out it was me who helped you escape..."

Jeremy didn't need to finish that sentence. They all knew what would happen. It almost happened to Ryan and Gavin, and would happen to so many more if they didn't put a stop to it. Ryan didn't want to send Jeremy back in there, but there was only one other place that he could think of to go.

Ryan turned to Gavin, and it seemed Gavin was thinking the same thing as he gave Ryan a nod. That gave Ryan the confidence to tell Jeremy.

"If you don't want to go back there, we have a place for you."


	11. There's No Place Like Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm sorry. I got too caught up in what would've happened to me if I tried to do something about it. I just let it happen, I was such a coward-"
> 
> "No," Gavin cut off Jeremy's ramblings before he could say anything else. "You're not a coward. You are so brave, Jeremy."

"You...want to...take down... _the king_?"

Jeremy was slowly trying to take in everything that they had just told him. Gavin wasn't totally sure that they should be telling him this, he could still turn on them after all, but Jeremy did seem that he genuinely wanted to make a difference, and wasn't that what they all just wanted?

They had walked out of the village and headed to a small cluster of trees nearby, where there was no one around. They didn't need anyone in the village to overhear what they had just told Jeremy.

"Yeah...it's kind of out there, we know."

"Kind of? It's a death wish! No way just the two of you will be able to pull off something like that!"

"It's not just the two of us," Gavin piped up. "There are others, and with you I think we can do it!"

"How many others?" Jeremy still didn't sound convinced that this was going to be a successful plan.

"Three." Ryan had moved to lean against a nearby tree. "It's not many more, but we all have our own assets that'll really help with this. And you could be a key point in helping this plan," Ryan pointed to Jeremy. "You know the palace, you're our way in."

"I think you missed the point when I said I can't go back there?" Jeremy enunciated each word slowly, like they still didn't understand what he was saying. "I can't just walk back in there and escort you all straight to the king."

"We're not saying that." Ryan pushed himself off the tree and moved to stand closer to them. "None of us will be able to get in easily either. I don't think our 'disguises' are going to work again," Ryan gestured to himself and Gavin. "And it's not like the rest of our party is quite so elusive, but you can help us come up with a plan. You said you wanted to stop the king; this is how you can help."

Jeremy seemed thoughtful for a moment, before he nodded and cracked his knuckles with a smile.

"I think it's about time that man got a taste of his own medicine."

Ryan and Gavin smiled. It seemed like things were finally all coming together.

The three of them began their trek back to the little house in the forest. As they had come out on the other side of the city, they had to walk further around the outside of the city walls before they reached the forest again. Thankfully, it didn't seem to take them that long before they reached the edge of the trees. Or, at least it felt like a short time to Gavin. Maybe it was the fact that things were beginning to look up for them, and the thought that they were finally on their way back to the others, that gave him a spring in his step and made him walk just that bit faster.

However, it was like he could only manage a small boost of adrenaline before he began to feel tired again. They had only been walking through the trees for a few minutes before Gavin felt the need to rest. He couldn't remember the last time he had a good, proper sleep. It was before they had entered Ozryon, and even then he had only slept outside. It seemed that it was all catching up to him now as his eyes started to droop shut.

He was willing to try and make it a bit further, not wanting to be the one to slow them down, but it seemed that Ryan was feeling the same as him as he stumbled and almost tripped over a tree root.

"Maybe we should rest before one of us passes out?" Gavin suggested.

Ryan looked relieved at the suggestion and gladly nodded.

"Perhaps we can see what this stale bread tastes like, too," Ryan proposed as they found a small clearing that was tucked away in some bushes. If someone wandered into the forest, they likely wouldn't be seen hidden in the underbrush.

The bread wasn't actually that bad, it still even tasted kind of fresh. Although, maybe it was because Gavin hadn't eaten anything for a while and anything at that point would have tasted amazing. Gavin happily munched on it, along with a few other things that Ryan had picked up from that stall in the market. Although the food was delicious, it didn't give Gavin as much energy as he wanted, and soon after he had finished, he felt himself start to drift off to sleep again.

His eyes began to slip shut, and the last thing he heard was Jeremy saying that he would keep watch if the two of them wanted to sleep for a bit. Gavin couldn't even find it in himself to be wary of the somewhat stranger watching over them before he fell asleep.

Gavin woke up with a start. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but when he took in his surroundings, he felt himself relax.

They were still all in the tiny clearing, and Jeremy hadn't murdered them in their sleep or taken their stuff, so at least they could trust him on that front.

Gavin wasn't sure how long he had been asleep. It was the morning when they had left the city, and from looking at the position of the sun shining through the trees, Gavin could guess that it was approaching midday. Gavin looked across to the other side of the clearing and found that Ryan was still sleeping against a tree. Gavin smiled at how Ryan looked so calm and serene in his sleep, so different from his serious facade he wore most of the time. Gavin didn't want to wake him, but he didn't feel up for going back to sleep.

Gavin found Jeremy sitting cross-legged, hunched over something that he was fiddling with on his lap. He seemed to not have noticed that Gavin was awake yet.

Gavin shuffled closer to Jeremy to see what he was doing, but when he got close Jeremy flinched and gave a small yell.

"Shit, Gavin!" Jeremy put a hand to his chest as he caught his breath. "I didn't know you were there!"

"Sorry," Gavin apologised sheepishly, but he couldn't help the small feeling of childish accomplishment at the fact that he managed to make Jeremy jump. "What are you doing?"

Jeremy picked up what he had been holding from the ground after he had dropped them in his fright. From what Gavin could see, he was holding a short, thick tree branch and a small knife. Gavin was a bit confused as to what they could be used for, but then Jeremy turned the branch around and Gavin's eyes widened at what he saw.

Carved into the side of the branch was a face. Gavin could make out the eyes, nose and mouth all carved deeply into the wood. Even on just a stick they held emotion. Around them, there were intricate lines that flowed down and around the face, like a long beard and flowing hair.

"Woah," Gavin whispered as he leant in close to get a better look.

"It's not my best one I've made, there wasn't really a lot of good sticks nearby," Jeremy shrugged as he went back to carving into the wood.

"You make these?" Gavin asked amazed. If this wasn't the best of what Jeremy could do, Gavin would love to see what else he could make.

"Occasionally, when I have the time. My dad taught me how to. He spent a lot of time with plants and trees because of his magic. Well, when he could actually get outside, but when he did, he liked to grow thick branches that would be good to make carvings out of."

"Like Jack!"

"Who?" Jeremy looked up from his work to give Gavin a questioning gaze.

"Jack!" Gavin repeated excitedly. "He's another enchanter. He can grow flowers and stuff with his magic. He made me this!"

Gavin reached into his pocket and dug out the flower that he had placed in there. When he pulled it out, it was fairly dim, but there was still some light shining out of the petals.

"It's called a solaber. In the day it absorbs the sunlight, and then at night it gets really bright as it casts out all the light that it's sucked in!" He enthusiastically explained, and he held it out for Jeremy to look at. "Jack can probably explain it better."

"Wait, it can really do that?" Jeremy took the flower from Gavin and held it close to his face. "My dad never did anything like that. Although, there was this one time he managed to make this plant that was constantly on fire."

"Really?"

"Yeah, almost set the house on fire as well," Jeremy laughed. "But it was worth it, it was really cool."

Jeremy handed the flower back to Gavin with a smile. "This is probably a much safer way of making light. You'll have to show me what it looks like at night."

"Sure!" Gavin smiled back at Jeremy as he put the flower back into his pocket. However, when he looked back up at Jeremy, the smile had faded from his face and a frown had taken its place.

"Gavin," Jeremy turned so that he was facing Gavin rather than them sitting side by side. Gavin felt his own smile fall as his concern grew.

"I know about what happened to your village, but I want you to know that I wasn't there. I wouldn't have done something like that. I know that you creepers aren't as bad as they say you are, and that attacking you would just be mercilessly attacking innocent creatures. They almost made me go, but they needed some guards to stay at the palace and I convinced them to let me be one of them. But I also didn't do anything to stop it. I'm sorry. I got too caught up in what would've happened to me if I tried to do something about it. I just let it happen, I was such a coward-"

"No," Gavin cut off Jeremy's ramblings before he could say anything else. "You're not a coward. You are so brave, Jeremy. You helped me and Ryan get out of that place, and you didn't let how it would affect you stop you from doing so. I don't care that you didn't stop what happened that day, I really doubt you would have been able to anyways."

At that, Jeremy solemnly nodded.

"I trust that you're not like those other guards, you've already showed how kind and selfless you are. Don't beat yourself up about that."

Jeremy nodded again, but then he let out a chuckle. "It's funny, I was intending this to be a way to comfort _you_ , not the other way around. You can see how bad at this I am."

Gavin laughed and leant back on his hands. "Well, then I guess you have the rest of this adventure to get better at it."

They were then met with the sound of Ryan stirring awake. They both watched as he stretched and opened his eyes.

"Is there a reason you're both staring at me?" Ryan mumbled sleepily as he yawned.

"Ryan! You should see what Jeremy can make, Ryan!"

Gavin turned to Jeremy and gestured to the wood carving he was still holding. Jeremy laughed and handed the stick over to Ryan.

"Impressive," Ryan mused as he analysed the branch. He rubbed his thumb over the carvings for a moment before he gave it back to Jeremy. "That's a very good skill you have. It could come in handy in more ways than one."

Jeremy glanced at his own carving thoughtfully, before he pocketed it along with his knife.

"How long was I asleep?" Ryan stretched his arms above his head.

"Not long, maybe a couple of hours or so," Jeremy replied.

"We should get going then. The sooner we get back the better."

Ryan gathered up his things and stood up. Gavin followed suit and slung his bag over his back.

"Now that we're back in the forest, I _think_ I know the way back." Ryan turned to face the direction that he thought was the correct way. "I'm really not in the mood to get lost."

Thankfully, they didn't get lost. Or maybe they did, and Ryan did a very good job of hiding it. The journey back wasn't that much different than the journey they made to the city. The only difference was that they had Jeremy with them this time. As well as the fact that Gavin wasn't as tense around Ryan as he was before. Gavin didn't even feel that nervous around Jeremy, despite only knowing him for less than a day and seeing as he was a guard and all. But for some reason, Gavin felt so comfortable around him, like he was meant to be a part of their little group.

However, the journey did take them a little longer this time. Gavin wasn't sure if it was because they had slightly further to walk, or because they were already so tired that their steps were much slower.

They didn't discuss much on the way. Gavin and Ryan told Jeremy about who Michael, Geoff and Jack were, so that he had some idea of who he was about to meet. Jeremy tried to ask more about their plan to take down the king, but Ryan and Gavin confessed that they still didn't have much of anything planned, and anything that they did come up with whilst in Ozryon they wanted to run down with the others before they set anything in stone.

Ryan also pressed Gavin for an explanation of what happened when he was in his cell, which he gave. Gavin also hesitantly told him about the reason they were in the dungeon in the first place. He feared that Ryan would hate him once he told him, but whether that was true or not, Ryan didn't show it. He simply told him that it wasn't his fault, that it would have likely happened anyway, and then the conversation was dropped.

Other than that, the three of them didn't talk about much more than what they already knew about each other. Perhaps it was their exhaustion that just made them all want to head back with the least amount of effort as possible and made them lack the mood of wanting to make small talk.

After what felt like a very long journey, as the sun was setting the following day, they finally saw the little, bright cottage appear through the trees.

As soon as Gavin saw it, he picked up his pace, his adrenaline fuelled by the knowledge that there were only a few more steps to go.

The solarbers were beginning to cast out their little lights, making the whole house light up in the approaching darkness. It was like a beacon that was shining out and calling them home.

When Gavin reached the fence, the door to the cottage opened and he was met with the one face that he couldn't get out of his mind the whole time he had been away.

"Gavin?" Michael hesitantly asked as he stepped out of the door.

"Michael!"

Gavin threw open the gate and rushed across the path toward the door. He crashed into Michael and threw his arms around his neck. He felt Michael wrap his arms around him too and pull him close. Gavin buried his face in his neck so that all he could smell was Michael and he could feel safe and know that he was no longer in that cell.

"Gavin, what's wrong?" Gavin heard Michael mumble into his hair.

"I missed you."

Although that wasn't the complete answer to the question, he still meant it whole-heartedly. Then, Gavin felt his heart pick up a beat and a warmth fill him as he heard what was uttered next.

"I missed you too."


	12. Plan of Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael is not happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I finally finished this fic, so now you guys are going to get two chapter updates a week! Enjoy!!

Michael paced back and forth through the room. He had been doing it for what was probably hours at that point, but he couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop, not until they made it back.

"Are you going to sit down at any point?" Geoff spoke up from one of the sofas.

"They're not back yet, they should be back. It's been too long."

Michael didn't stop in his tracks. His long strides went from the kitchen, then to the living room, then back to the kitchen. It was methodical. Ten steps one way, ten steps the other way.

"I'm sure that they just got held up. They probably found something that could help," Jack added reassuringly, although it didn't help Michael stop his pacing.

"What could they have possibly found that would help? There's not going to be some poster announcing the top tips on how to kill a king or something, is there? It was stupid of them to go."

Michael stopped in his stride when he heard snickering coming from the sofas. He looked over to see Jack and Geoff giggling away at something like a couple of children.

"What are you two laughing at?" Michael yelled. This was not a time for laughter.

"You," Geoff continued to laugh. "Relax, bud. I'm sure they're fine."

Michael let out a deep breath and tried to relax a little. They were right, Gavin and Ryan probably were just caught up with something that could be helpful to their plan. He just couldn't help his worry that something terrible had happened.

Michael sat down on an armchair to try and loosen up a bit, but he couldn't stop his gaze from drifting over to the window. The curtains were closed so he couldn't see outside, but he knew it was getting dark out there. What if they were on their way back and had to spend the night outside? Michael knew what dangers lurked outside in the dark.

They sat in silence for a moment whilst Michael tried to calm down, but that silence was quickly broken by the quiet sounds of approaching footsteps outside.

Michael shot up out of his seat and hurried to the front door to see who it was. He didn't even bother to peek out the window before he threw the front door open.

At the other end of the path, he saw a familiar figure opening the gate. His face was illuminated by the light that filled the garden. There was no mistaking who it was.

"Gavin?"

Even though Michael had been waiting for him to come home any moment now, he still couldn't believe that he was actually right there. He wouldn't have admitted to it, but there was a constant worry that something was going to go wrong and neither Gavin nor Ryan would come back.

"Michael!" Gavin called across the garden, and then the next thing Michael knew, Gavin was hugging him tightly.

Michael was startled for a moment, but then he was hugging him back just as quickly. Michael shouldn't have been surprised, he would have tackled Gavin anyway if Gavin didn't do it first, but there was just something about his urgency and the way he clung onto Michael that was concerning. That, and how he was shaking in his arms was what alerted to Michael that things weren't all that they seemed. That although he appeared to be in one piece, there was still something wrong.

"Gavin, what's wrong?" He mumbled into the hair of the man in his arms.

"I missed you," he heard Gavin whisper, muffled against his neck.

Michael was taken aback by that. Not of the fact that Gavin had said it, but of the way it made him feel. It filled him with such warmness and delight. It made him feel giddy with happiness. It made him feel something that he had never felt before- a feeling of being wanted.

He didn't hesitate in his reply.

"I missed you, too."

Michael embraced Gavin for a few more moments, before he was reminded that they weren't alone. A movement from behind Gavin caught his eye, and Michael saw that it was Ryan, who was just entering the garden as well. Michael let go of Gavin and went to greet Ryan as well, but it was then that Michael saw Ryan wasn't the only one walking through the gate.

"Who's this?" Michael stepped around Gavin and gestured to the stranger close behind Ryan. When the man stepped closer, Michael tensed as he saw what they were. "A _guard_? What is he doing here?"

"Michael, this is Jeremy. He's here to help us," Ryan replied calmly, although Michael didn't know how he could be calm with a _guard_ behind him. Not only that, from the type of armour he wore, he was a _palace guard_. Why did Ryan think it was okay to bring back a guard from the palace, especially with Gavin in tow.

"' _Help us_ '? He's a guard! How can he _help_ us?" Michael was in disbelief, was Ryan actually serious?

"He's a guard. That's _exactly_ how he can help us."

"What-"

"Michael." Gavin put a hand on Michael's shoulder and Michael turned his attention towards him, curious as to what his opinion was on all of this. "We can trust Jeremy. He's already helped us before."

"Helped you? In what way has he-"

It was then that Michael glanced down at the hand that was on his shoulder, and his eyes widened at the white bandage he saw wrapped around it.

"What happened?" Michael grabbed Gavin's wrist and pulled the hand down from his shoulder. He turned it over and saw that there was blood soaking through the bandage. "You're bleeding."

"Oh," Gavin looked down at his own hand and titled his head in confusion. "I thought it stopped."

"That's probably my fault," Jeremy spoke up, but quickly clarified when he saw Michael glare at him. "We didn't really have the time or resources to clean it properly or anything. I just hastily wrapped it, it probably reopened on the journey."

Michael cast his gaze back down to Gavin's hand. It did look like it was poorly wrapped up. The bandages were even looking loose and close to just falling off.

Michael heard footsteps approaching them, and he looked up to find Geoff and Jack walking towards them from the house. Michael had almost forgotten about them as well. He was too caught up in Gavin that he didn't think about the two people who he had been anxiously pacing in front of just several minutes before. As they walked over, Michael was eager to know what their opinion was on all of this. Maybe they could talk some sense into Ryan on the whole 'bring a guard to their house' situation.

Jack stepped up to Michael and Gavin and carefully took Gavin's hand out of Michael's hold, and brought it closer to himself to get a look at it.

"I should take a look at this inside," Jack furrowed his brow and looked back up at them. "We should all head indoors, and you guys can tell us what happened whilst you were gone."

His glance to Jeremy didn't go unmissed.

"All of you."

In short, Michael was furious.

He had just heard Ryan and Gavin recount their experience in Ozryon. All the way from when they entered the city, to the tavern and the guards, to the palace dungeon, and then to Jeremy helping them escape.

They had all sat in a breathless silence as they both went through their own account of what happened in their cells. Michael sat on the arm of the sofa next to Gavin as he told them about the people who came into his cell, about how they wanted his blood for some sort of experiments. About how he didn't know what else they had planned for him if Jeremy hadn't shown up.

And now, Michael was just plain angry. At both the guards who had hurt Gavin, and at himself. He knew something bad was going to happen. He should have gone with them. He could have been there to help them, to protect them. Although, he knew that was just wishful thinking. There was a reason he couldn't go in the first place, and if he did go then he was sure they would have ended up just being captured sooner.

Michael could see their reasoning for trusting Jeremy, he apparently did save their lives after all, but years of experience had told Michael that people didn't just do something nice for nothing in return. He still couldn't shake the feeling that Jeremy had further intentions than just wanting to do something out of the kindness of his heart.

"So, your father, you said he was an enchanter?" Jack spoke up from where he sat next to Gavin on the sofa, still wrapping a bandage around Gavin's hand. He had already properly cleaned and disinfected it, and thankfully stated that it wasn't deep enough to need stitches.

"Yeah," Jeremy replied. "His magic was plant-based. If Gavin hadn't already told me yours is the same, I could've guessed just by the garden you have out there." He jerked his thumb in the direction of the garden outside. "My dad's flower collection looked pretty similar."

Jack laughed, "that doesn't surprise me."

Jack finally then finished up with Gavin and gathered up his things from the table. He stood up to put them away, and as soon as he was up Michael didn't hesitate to steal his seat to sit closer to Gavin.

"And it's because of him that you want to help us?" Geoff asked.

"I'll admit that your plan is insane and the chances of you being successful are really slim, but it's the most I've seen anyone do to try and change this world. It's about time someone did that, and if me helping you will stop you from getting your asses handed to you, then count me in."

Geoff began to nod, like he was happy with Jeremy's explanation and was ready to let him stay, but Michael wasn't going to let that happen so easily.

"So, what? He just tells us some backstory and he gets to stay?" Michael frowned at Geoff.

"Michael, he's-"

"He's a guard, we can't trust him! How do we know that him helping Ryan and Gavin wasn't just some plan to follow them here and find out where we all were?"

"Well, if that were true, then he's already here," Geoff shrugged. "What else have we got to lose than include him in our plan? Like you say, he's a guard, which means that he can be crucial part of this whole operation!"

"We barely know him," Michael argued. "Do you really want to risk him turning on us when we're so close to our goal?"

"You didn't even know who any of us were two weeks ago. Do you think one of us is going to do that?" Geoff asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but you're different," Michael stammered, although he was beginning to see that this was a losing argument.

"In what way?" Geoff laughed as Michael's anger faded into annoyance. "In a few days I'm sure you'll warm up to him just like you did for all of us."

Michael was ready to deliver some sort of retort, maybe about how they didn't know him as well as they thought they did, but any quip he had prepared died in his throat when he felt the hand on his arm. Michael turned to find the tired face of Gavin watching him, and it was that look alone that made Michael sigh and turn back to the others.

"Fine," Michael groaned. "But if you wake up with a knife in your back, don't come crying to me."

"Perfect!" Geoff clapped his hands together. "Now, did you guys manage find anything else that could be useful?"

"Possibly," Ryan seemed hopeful, but then he yawned, and he just seemed tired. "But can that wait until the morning?"

"Sure, I think you've all earned a decent rest. Jeremy can stay out here on the sofas with you, Ryan." Jack turned to Jeremy, his expression becoming slightly more serious. "I trust you, but just in case you decide to try anything, Ryan will stop you. And _you_ can trust that."

Jeremy nodded frantically. "Don't worry, I understand."

Michael didn't even bother to wait to hear what else was said after that. He stood up and made his way to his room in a huff. He still wasn't happy with the whole situation, but he could see the reasoning behind their logic of allowing Jeremy to stay and help. Michael just had to take Geoff's advice and hope that he would warm up to Jeremy in a few days.

He reached the door to the bedroom, and it was only when he reached for the door handle he realised that his hand was already holding something.

It was Gavin's hand.

Michael didn't even notice as he instinctively reached for Gavin's hand as he stood up and lead them both back to the bedroom. He didn't mean to, it just felt natural, like he wanted to be close to him after hearing about what he had endured when he was in the city. It reminded Michael of when Gavin and he spoke alone in the room just after they had met Ryan, not long before the two of them left for Ozryon.

Michael felt his cheeks heat up and he quickly let go of Gavin's hand after he realised what he had done. Gavin didn't even seem to react, either he didn't care or was too tired to acknowledge what had happened.

Michael tried not to think too much about it as he opened the door and stepped into the room. He heard Gavin shuffle in behind him and the soft _click_ of the door as it closed.

"Hey, Gav," Michael turned his back to the bed as he went to kick his shoes off into the corner of the room. "What do you think of this whole Jeremy situation? I mean, I know you said you trust him and all, but I just...am I being unreasonable?"

The response he got was just silence, and when he turned around, he was met with Gavin already fast asleep on the bed.

Michael smiled down at him sweetly, he was probably exhausted. He hadn't even got himself under the covers before he was out. Michael walked over to Gavin's side of the bed and gently lifted a blanket to lay over the man. He watched Gavin's chest rise and fall beneath the blanket for a few moments, before he quietly walked away, content that Gavin was safe and shielded from any harm.

The next day when they were all awake and were full after a hearty breakfast, they all gathered around the fireplace again to pick up where they had left off the night before.

They had woken up to a pretty heavy rainstorm outside, and so the fireplace had been lit. The rain tapped on the windows, and Michael felt warm and comfortable as he felt the heat of the fire drown out any coldness that drifted in from the outside. Gavin had changed back into his usual creeper clothes, and he seemed a lot more refreshed and awake than he had the night before as he sat tucked up on the sofa next to Michael.

Geoff and Jack were the last to sit down as they had taken the liberty of making them some tea. They placed a mug for each of them on the coffee table, and finally sat down.

"Alright, let's get started then!" Geoff seemed excited at the prospect of finally making some progress in their plan. "What did you guys find?"

"Well, it's not much, but hopefully it's something," Ryan began. "There's something happening in the city in a few weeks, a festival. We didn't find all that much about it, but it seemed like a pretty good way to get close to the king. The city will probably be busy enough for us to sneak right in, hopefully the guards will be too occupied to notice us. That's probably too much to ask, though. Maybe Jeremy knows more about it?"

Ryan turned his head to look at Jeremy hopefully, the rest of them following suit. Jeremy seemed to contemplate the idea as he rubbed his chin. He thought about it for a moment longer before he nodded his head slightly.

"That might not actually be a terrible idea. You're right, the city does get very busy during the festival. Sadly, I don't think it'll be enough to cover up the fact that you're, you know..." Jeremy struggled to find what to say to describe them.

"So obviously illegal?" Ryan offered helpfully.

"Yeah," Jeremy agreed with a laugh. "But it's probably your best bet. It will create a huge distraction, and it's probably the closest you will get to the king without infiltrating the palace somehow, which will be even more impossible than what you already have planned."

Jeremy moved closer to the edge of his seat as he got more eager with his explanation. "This festival is a big deal to the king, like a _really_ big deal. It's the only time he ever leaves the palace to see his people. I know I worked in the palace, but I have no idea why he wanted to stay inside so much. Only those who were really high up ever saw him. But this festival, this one day, he comes out and shows his face."

"So, what does this festival actually involve?" Jack asked.

"It includes your typical festival amusements- food, music, games. You name it, it's probably there. But the biggest part of the festival is the jousting. It takes place all throughout the day, it's the one event that the king actually attends. He sits around and watches it all day, and then when it's over, he heads back to the palace."

"Wait, we saw on a poster that you got to meet the king," Ryan furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Yeah, you don't actually get to meet him. They just put that all over the posters because according to him, watching him watch a few jousts is 'meeting' him. It's probably the closest you will ever get to meeting him."

"So, this jousting is pretty much our only opportunity to do this?

Jeremy nodded. "Pretty much, yeah. Unless you had an army, it'd be pretty impossible to get to the king any other way."

"So, we go to the festival, find our way to the jousting arena, and then kill him? Doesn't sound too difficult." Geoff leant back in his seat and took a long sip from his tea, seeming complacent at the development in the situation.

"Yeah, but how are we even going to make it into the city? They'll know who we are in a heartbeat," Michael added, and Geoff visibly deflated as he realised the big flaw in their plan.

"Oh, yeah. Is there any way we can get in? It's not like Jack or me can get in with our eyes, and the guards will recognise Jeremy and Michael, and most likely now Ryan and Gavin as well." He slumped forward and buried his face in his hands, almost spilling them remnants of his tea in the process. "This is hopeless."

They all sat in silence, defeated. Geoff was right, this was hopeless. There was no way they would be able to pull this off because they couldn't even get past the first step.

Then, they were all startled out of their hopeless brooding when Ryan suddenly sat upright.

"There may still be some hope. I once read about these flowers called tiliaceus. They were rumoured to change colour each season, and not only that, if you were digest one it would apparently change your eye colour to whatever colour the flower had turned to at the time. I've never actually come across one before, so I'm not even sure they really exist, but if they did then that would at least fix Geoff and Jack's problem of reaching the city."

"I've never heard of that before," Jack said in disbelief. "I don't have any in my garden, though. Can I not just enchant another flower to do that?"

"I don't think it works like that," Ryan replied sympathetically. "People have tried that before, and I don't think it ever worked."

"What's the point of it then if we don't even have access to it?" Michael threw his arms up. Why did Ryan bring it up if it wouldn't actually be helpful information?

"I don't know! I just thought that-"

"I've heard of that!"

They turned towards the source of the voice, and found that Gavin had sat up in his seat and his eyes were eyes wide.

"There were these flowers in the forest, and they would change colour all the time! They weren't called tiliaceus, although we didn't know what their actual name was. We just called them tifuls." He cast a shy glance at Michael and then looked away. "Because we found them very beautiful."

"That's probably them, then." Ryan smiled, seeming pleased that his piece of information wasn't completely useless. "Where abouts are they in the forest."

Gavin hesitated for a moment, before he spoke.

"In the creeper village."

The room went quiet as they all took in what that meant. If they needed to go back to the village, then Gavin would need to go back too, otherwise they wouldn't know where to find the flowers. Gavin hadn't been back since it had been attacked, and they didn't know what state it was left in, or how going back would affect Gavin.

Michael was the first one to break the silence. "Like, actually _in_ the village?"

"Yeah, there's was a patch of them that grew right in the centre," Gavin confirmed.

"That would explain why no one has seen any in years," Ryan added, although it wasn't all that helpful.

"Then we'd have to go back there to get them," Geoff frowned. "But we don't have to, if you don't want to. We could find another way..."

"No," Gavin said sternly. "We need them. We should go."

Gavin seemed confident, but Michael still wasn't convinced. Besides, even if Gavin wanted to go, who knew if there would still be guards around the area. Although, it had been a little while now, and Michael wouldn't be surprised if Gavin had been dying to go back home, to see what it was like.

But Michael still had to ask, just to check. "Are you sure?"

Gavin nodded. "I want to go."

That was enough to convince Michael. If Gavin was fine with going back to his village, then so was Michael. It wasn't like he could control what Gavin did, anyway, and Gavin knew his own home better than any of them.

"It's settled then, Gavin and I will head to Gavin's village to get those flowers, and you guys can stay here and come up with the rest of the plan."

"Wait, what?" Geoff crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Why do we have to stay?"

" _Because_ ," Michael drawled out. "This is only _part_ of the plan. We still need to work out the rest of what we're going to do. You guys are smart, I'm sure you can figure something out."

"He's right." Michael grinned at Jack, who made it sound like he was just agreeing to their intelligence. Jack just rolled his eyes with a hint of amusement and continued. "We don't all need to go. We still need to work out what we're doing. These flowers only solve part of our problems."

"Okay, fine. You have a point." Geoff slumped back into his seat and turned to face Jeremy. "When is the festival?"

"About two weeks away."

"Then we have some time to relax a bit. You two can head to the village in a couple of days. Hopefully during the time you're gone we'll work out a full plan of attack, and then we should have at least a week left to prepare. For now, we can just rest for a bit. A lot has happened recently, we need some time to recharge."

"That's probably the best idea you've ever had, Geoff." Ryan was already in the process of leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes, but his relaxing was abruptly stopped when Geoff threw a pillow at his face. "Hey!"

"We have weapons in this house, consider yourself lucky."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiliaceus - based off of the Hibiscus Tiliaceus flowers that change colour over time.


	13. Back to Where it All Began (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They were sat in a storm of destruction, but there was no calm in the middle. Only further annihilation as the wind blew in the form of shattered debris and crumbling petals fell to the ground like rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So these next two chapters were supposed to be just one, but it got too long so I had to split it into two. Hopefully it's worth the wait for the second part!

True to Geoff's word, they took the rest of that day and the following day off. Gavin was very thankful for the suggestion, after walking to, from, and around Ozryon he was in desperate need of a bit of a break. It definitely helped being in the familiar home of Geoff and Jack. Even though it wasn't his own home, it still brought a sense of comfort that his own home had. He felt safe within its walls, and he actually managed to relax for a bit.

The break also gave Gavin a bit of time to get his head around the idea of going back to his home. It was all he had wanted to do since he left, but there was still a pang of anxiety that hit him whenever he thought about how in just a small amount of time he would be back there. He knew it wasn't to do with the possibility of guards hanging around the area- Jeremy had assured them that although he wasn't involved with that mission, he was pretty sure no one was still hanging around.

It was more to do with the fact that he didn't know what state it had been left in. If there was anything left standing, or if it was all completely destroyed. Whether there would be the bodies of his peers left lying around, or if any survivors were still nearby.

When he was in his cell, he had heard that there were other creepers who had managed to survive. There was a chance that they had headed back to the village and had begun to rebuild their lives there again, which was risky as there was a chance of it being attacked again. Or, they hadn't, and they were all spread out across the forest and beyond, with the odds of seeing each other again small. Gavin wasn't sure which he preferred and going back would confirm whatever had happened after he had left.

Going back there with Michael did help calm his nerves, though. It even made him feel slightly giddy at the fact that he was showing Michael where he grew up, even if it was mostly destroyed. It was something personal, something he hadn't done with anyone who wasn't a creeper, but it felt so right that the person he was doing it with was Michael. And it was with that thought, that comfort twirling around his head, that helped him leave the house that morning and take off into the forest with Michael, back toward his own home.

"Have you ever thought about how some people were born the way that they were?"

"What?"

It hadn't been that long since they had set off towards Gavin's village, but it seemed that Michael couldn't make it long without finding something to talk about.

"Like how some people, like Jack, Geoff and Ryan, were born with magic in them, just like that. And their magic is different, but also similar, like how some of them share the same power, like Jack and Jeremy's dad, but their eyes are all different depending on what their power is. How is it decided who has what type of magic? Is it in their blood or something? But why would Jeremy's dad have magic, but Jeremy doesn't? And then there are you creepers, who have your own power that you all share, but no one else has it. How did that even come about?"

Throughout Michael's rant he began to grow more animated, and Gavin laughed at how his hands made wild gestures at the air around them.

"Honestly, I've never thought about that before."

"And then there are people like me, who don't have any magic in them. They're just ordinary." Michael slumped a little at that, and his arms fell to his sides. Gavin didn't want to see him sad, so he scrambled to find something to add to Michael's magical ramblings.

"Hey, but you're really strong! That's not ordinary, not everyone else has that! Maybe that's from some sort of magic in you? It's your own power!"

Michael seemed to lighten up as he thought out that. "Yeah, not everyone can do this."

Michael stepped towards a tree and reached for one of the thicker, lowest branches. He was just about tall enough for his fingers to reach the branch, and he had to jump slightly to wrap his hands around it. When he had a hold on it, his weight pulled the branch far enough down for him to plant his feet back on the floor. Then, he _yanked_ the branch down, and it snapped off of the tree like it was just a twig. Michael held the branch in his arms for a moment, before he threw it onto the ground.

"Not a bad substitute for having magical powers."

"Won't Jack be mad you just destroyed a tree?" Gavin laughed.

"What does he care, it's not his tree. It'll just grow a new arm, or something," Michael shrugged, and turned to carry on walking.

Gavin followed, still smiling.

"You know, you still haven't told me much about when you were a child," Gavin spoke up from where he walked just a step behind Michael.

"Because there isn't much to talk about than what I've already told you. Small town, no parents, no family. Just me."

"But how can you never meet your parents?"

"Apparently I was just left on the steps of the orphanage when I was a baby. It was a real shitty one though, it was almost no better than being on the actual street."

"Orphanage?" Gavin queried at the foreign word.

"You've never heard of an orphanage?" Michael turned abruptly towards him. "Actually, I don't know why I'm surprised. It's not like they have them literally in the middle of the forest. It's just a place where kids go who don't have any parents," he explained.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Gavin figured he wasn't going to get much more out of Michael, so he changed his approach. "How did you find out you were so strong?"

"There wasn't really one particular moment that made me realise it. It was more of a bunch of different times where, I guess you could say, I came out on top? Like how in the orphanage we would play these games. Although, they weren't really for fun. They were more for a way to decide who got more food. They weren't really anything special, just things like arm wrestling and whatnot, but whenever we did them, I would always win. Sometimes they accused me of cheating, but I just thought the other kids were letting me win by how easy it was. I started to realise that they weren't when they would all team up against me and I would still beat them all. I think they started to hate me because of it, but I didn't care. Meant that they wouldn't bother me.

"Then as I got older, I spent more time on the streets than in the orphanage, and then eventually I wasn't in the orphanage at all. That's when other people started to notice- I wasn't exactly subtle about it. I would use it to my advantage whenever I could. I would break things, fight people, and then that's when people got scared. Scared that I would hurt them, although I wouldn't have hurt someone who didn't deserve it. And that's when I left. But it's fine, if I never left, I never would have met you."

Michael suddenly stopped and his eyes grew wider. It was the first time he had taken the time to pause since he had started speaking, and it was as if he had said it all without thinking and was only now realising what he had said. Gavin was sure he saw Michael's cheeks go a little pinker before he started speaking again.

"Er." He coughed. "Why do you want to know all this anyway?"

"I don't know, just interested is all," Gavin shrugged. He really did just want to know a bit more about Michael.

"Well then, I'm interested in why you told Ryan about creepers but not me." Michael had turned to him and took a moment to poke him in the chest.

Gavin looked at him in confusion and rubbed at his chest. "I've told you about creepers!"

"Yeah, but not what you've told Ryan! He informed me about how you two had a lovely chat on the way to Ozryon."

"Well, you've never asked!" Gavin threw his arms into the air.

"I'm asking now!" Michael's voice was raised, but he was grinning at Gavin. "Tell me about what the hell you guys did to occupy yourselves in the middle of a forest."

Gavin took a moment to think about that. It wasn't really something he had thought much about before as it was hard to get bored. They just always found something to do.

"You might find this hard to believe, but there's actually a lot that we did. We went exploring a lot, mostly around the forest, but some creepers liked to leave the forest and go further even though it was dangerous. We would go down to the river nearby, sometimes to relax or swim, sometimes to catch fish. Usually we would hunt for food, so a lot of our time could be spent just hunting. That's how I learnt to use a bow and arrow." He gestured to his bow that he had brought with him. Although they were likely not going to need any weapons for this trip, they took them anyway just as a precaution. "We found that it could be a lot more efficient than just using our power."

"Because if you blew them up there would be no food left?"

Gavin laughed. "Yeah, pretty much. When we weren't doing that, there was a lot of other things we could do to keep us occupied, like how we had these books. I think some creepers stole them from humans at some point, but it did help us to learn to read and write like you, though we're probably not as good at it as you are. When the weather wasn't that good, sometimes I would just stay home and read. Generally, we would just do things like that, it wasn't that hard to find something to occupy us."

When Gavin finished speaking, he started to think about what he had said, and he frowned. Talking about creepers made him realise how much he missed being at home. Being at Jack and Geoff's house made him feel just like being at his own house had. Not only that, he lived alone in his own little home, but at their house he had company. Company that he hadn't ever felt when around the other creepers. But it had still been _his_ home. The place he had grown up in alongside the people he had grown up with. It made him sad to think that he would never have those moments with them again.

Michael seemed to sense his change in mood as he reached out and clasped his shoulder, jostling him as they walked. "I guess you're really not too different from the rest of us." He smiled, but then he hooked his arm around Gavin's neck, pulled him closer, and with his other hand he ruffled up Gavin's hair. "Actually, _you're_ still a bit of a weirdo."

Gavin squawked and tried to wrestle his way out of Michael's hold. "Hey!"

Michael chuckled as he finally let him go and Gavin went to fix his hair, but he couldn't help but laugh along with him as he did so.

"Hey, what's your opinion on ghosts?" Michael suddenly asked.

Gavin was taken aback by the sudden randomness of it. "What?"

"You wanted to find out more about each other. It's a long journey, we need to occupy the time somehow!"

Gavin watched Michael for a moment. Michael was still smiling, but he seemed like he genuinely wanted an answer to his question. So, Gavin just shook his head and laughed at the ridiculousness of it, but he still gave Michael an answer just as he wished.

* * *

Several hours had passed since they had first set off that morning. They took a few breaks here and there, but they wanted to reach the village before night fell, so they tried to not stop for long. Michael wasn't sure exactly where abouts the village was, but Gavin seemed certain that he knew the direction they needed to go. Actually, he hadn't been certain, not until Geoff told them before they left the way he believed the village was. Now, Gavin confidently directed them through the trees, and Michael could only hope that Geoff had been right.

The day Michael met Gavin seemed like forever ago now, so he couldn't quite remember the direction to the house they had come from. Not knowing where the village was meant that Michael didn't know how far away from it they were. They had been walking for a while, though, so he was sure that they must be approaching it soon.

However, it didn't feel like they had been walking for hours. Michael and Gavin had spent the whole time chatting about a variety of topics. All the way from supernatural beings to their thoughts on the magic in their world, from what kinds of creatures might be out there that hadn't been discovered yet, to what kind of world could exist out past what had already been explored. They talked about stories from their childhood and where they dreamt they'd be today, and how that was different to where they realistically thought they'd end up. Somehow, they still ended up in a situation that was far beyond what either of them could have imagined, and Michael knew that he wouldn't have asked for it to be any different. He just hoped that Gavin felt the same way too.

Before they knew it, their journey was almost over. Michael kind of hoped it wasn't, he had had such a fun time with Gavin, finding out things about each other and discussing the most random subjects. However, it had been kind of a long journey and Michael was beginning to feel tired, so maybe stopping soon wasn't so bad.

"I think we're close," Gavin said.

Michael took in the forest that surrounded them. It didn't seem all that different from the rest of the forest they had walked through, except for the fact that the floor looked like it had been walked over quite a bit. The grass looked tramped, and in some places the ground had been walked across enough that dirt paths had been created.

They began to follow one of the paths. The further they went, the wider the path grew, and suddenly it was like they had stepped through some sort gateway into a whole other forest.

Before, it had seemed like there was nothing around them except for trees, but as soon as they stepped a little further, they were met with the edge of the village. It had been hidden behind the thick trees, and if they hadn't been searching for it, they may have missed it.

From what Gavin had told him, the village was made up of a number of wooden houses built into the trees, which was where all the creepers lived. However, as they approached the village, Michael couldn't see anything built into the trees. Instead, all over the ground was broken debris and what remained of the wooden structures. There were even some thick branches across the floor and some of the smaller trees looked like they were half collapsing. It really did look like the aftermath of an invasion.

Michael stopped in shock to look at the destruction, but Gavin seemed unfazed by it and he just continued to walk into the village. Michael frowned at Gavin's apparent lack of concern and went to follow after him, but he stumbled as he tripped over something on the ground.

He looked down to find that he had stepped on a wide piece of wood. It looked like it had once been a piece of wall that belonged to one of these houses. Michael went to step over it but hesitated as he noticed something on the planks of wood. He frowned as he leant in close to examine the dark substance, but his eyes widened as he realised what it was. There was no mistaking the dark, red liquid that caked the wood, almost brown as it dried over time.

What was weird about it, however, was that by judging by the amount of blood on the floor, it must have been the result of a serious, almost deadly, injury. But there was nobody around that could have been the source of the blood, and if the person survived and managed to get away, there would've probably been a trail or something leading away from the big splatter.

But there was nothing, and when Michael looked around what he could see of the village, he couldn't see anyone else. No bodies, living or dead. It's not like he would have expected there to be anyone around, but it just seemed too quiet. There was no life, like the place had been abandoned for years.

Michael only looked down at the splatter for a moment longer before he hurried to catch up with Gavin.

Gavin had already made it quite a distance into the village and was walking at a fairly quick pace. When Michael reached him, he was frantically looking around as if he was searching for something, and he seemed sad as he did so.

"What's wrong?" Michael asked as he finally caught up to Gavin and tried to get him to stand still.

Gavin stopped and turned to face Michael, and Michael saw that there were the beginnings of tears in his eyes.

"They were supposed to be here!"

Michael felt confused. That had come out of nowhere.

"Who?"

"The survivors," Gavin said in a way that insinuated that Michael should know exactly what he was talking about.

"What?"

"The survivors! The others who got away!"

Michael felt even more lost than before.

"Whoa, Gavin, slow down." He placed his hands on Gavin's shoulders to try and calm him down. "What do you mean the others who got away?"

"The guards in the cell, they said that there were other creepers who got away from the attack, but they're not here! So, if they're not here, then where are they?"

"You never told me the guards said that." Michael ignored the question in favour of figuring out what Gavin was talking about. He needed to piece together the information before he could help Gavin.

Now Gavin was the one who looked confused, but he at least seemed like he had calmed down a fraction.

"I didn't?" He frowned. "Yeah, I-I guess a lot was happening and I forgot to mention it."

He let out a deep breath and rubbed both his hands over his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak out, it's just...when they said that there were others who got away, I kind of hoped that they would all come back here. If they're not here, then I don't know where else they could be. They could be alone out there, or hurt, or captured or-"

"Gav, you're freaking out again." Michael grasped Gavin's shoulders again, gave them a gentle squeeze, and gave Gavin a reassuring smile. "You're probably just stressing over nothing. I know I can't promise anything, but if there are other creepers out there, I will help you look for them, okay? But there's no point in worrying about it right now." Michael dropped his hands from Gavin's shoulders. "Look, we've been walking for a while and it's beginning to get dark, so let's go find these flowers and then we can find some place to sleep for the night. I'm sure you'll feel better about this in the morning."

Gavin nodded and gave him a shaky smile back. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. I guess I just need some sleep. I'm sorry."

"Hey, no. There's nothing to apologise for. A lot has happened lately, and it's okay to freak out a little. Especially considering you're back where it all started. You're allowed to be upset about it, and if you ever need someone to freak out to, I'll always be here for you."

He smiled at Gavin, and Gavin's own small smile grew into a wide grin. Michael couldn't help but watch how his eyes crinkled, how there was a small spark that appeared there, and his heart skipped a beat when Gavin reached for his hand.

"Okay. The flowers should be this way."

And then Gavin was pulling him deeper into the village.

The further they got into the village, the more Michael began to see what it was _supposed_ to look like. This deep into the village, the houses built into the trees were less damaged and more structurally intact. There were still the odd pieces missing and chunks of debris on the floor, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it was at the edge of the village.

Now that the area they were in seemed to be more intact, Michael could see more of what the village must have looked like before it was attacked.

It actually looked like quite a nice place to live. As Michael had been expecting, all of the houses were built high up in the branches of the trees, each with a little ladder or stairs leading up to them. A couple of them even had bridges connecting them to one another.

It was really impressive. These people had built this all by hand, using just the tools that they could find in the forest. Although, to see what must have taken years and years of hard work be torn down just like that, it was sad to think about.

Gavin continued to pull Michael in the direction of the tifuls, or whatever it was that Ryan had called them. Michael had almost tripped a few too many times as he was too distracted by looking at the village than to watch where he was going. Then, as Michael was taking in a fairly elegant looking house, he walked straight into the back of Gavin from where he had suddenly stopped.

"Oof." Michael's breath was expelled out of him as he stumbled into Gavin. "Why'd you stop?"

Michael stepped around Gavin, and he saw what had made Gavin stop so abruptly.

"Oh."

In front of them was a flower patch. Or, what remained of a flower patch. It seemed as if someone had come along and hacked away at all of the flowers. All of the flowers were either torn out of the ground or sliced in half or ripped apart. Over time, the flowers had decayed and their colours had faded and now they were left to wither in a pile on the floor. The trees around them grew in a circle, which created a round clearing that was completely covered with flowers and other small plants. It would've probably been quite a pretty area, if the flowers were alive.

"They weren't specific about it, but I don't think we can take back dead flowers..." Michael muttered.

Gavin knelt down and grabbed a handful of the destroyed flowers.

"Nothing ever goes right, does it?" he mumbled.

"Nope." Michael sighed and he knelt down on the ground next to Gavin. He grabbed his own handful of flowers, and they started to crumble and fall apart just as he held them. He slowly let them drop out of his hand and he watch them as they fell to the floor. "But it wouldn't really be our style if everything went according to plan."

He looked over at Gavin and noticed how his grip had tightened and he was beginning to crush the flowers. Michael reached out to place his own hand on top of Gavin's, and Gavin was startled out of whatever it was that was troubling his mind.

He looked at Michael with tears in his eyes, and Michael could understand what it was that had upset him. It wasn't so much that these flowers were all dead. It was rather the fact that those guards had already taken away so much from Gavin, and these flowers were just an emphasis of what kind of state Gavin's past had been left in.

They were sat in a storm of destruction, but there was no calm in the middle. Only further annihilation as the wind blew in the form of shattered debris and crumbling petals fell to the ground like rain.

"You know what else is our style?" Michael paused for a moment, but Gavin didn't say anything. "When things don’t go our way, we _make_ them go our way. How else do you think we both got into this situation?" He laughed and saw a hint of a smile appear on Gavin's face. "Not all hope is lost. I'm not coming all this way for nothing. We'll think of something."

He rubbed his chin whilst he tried to think of a solution. "Maybe Jack could just bring these flowers back to life? Although, I don't remember him saying that he could. Honestly, I think I drifted off when he started to tell me about his magic. It was a bit too complicated for me. All I remember him saying was he can grow plants, but that's just a given with his type of magic."

"Grow plants..." Gavin mumbled so quietly that Michael almost didn't hear him.

"What was that?"

"Grow plants! Jack can _grow plants_!" Gavin said louder this time, but still Michael wasn't all that sure that he understood what Gavin was saying.

"Yeah, that's what I just said-"

"He doesn't need the flowers," Gavin cut him off, his voice laced with excitement. "He can just _grow_ them!"

For not the first time that day, Michael was confused. "If he could just grow them, then why did we need to come all the way out here to-"

"He just needs the soil!" Gavin explained enthusiastically. "He doesn't need the actual flowers! We can just take the soil and he can grow them from that!"

"Soil...I think I remember him saying that..."

Michael didn't remember him saying that, but he trusted that Gavin did.

"So, we just need to take back some of this soil and Jack can grow these flowers?"

"Yep!" Gavin's mood seemed to have been lifted as he excitedly tugged his backpack off and rummaged through it. A moment later he produced a small wooden box that Jack had given them to put the flowers in. "We need to make sure that the flowers grew in this exact soil for it to work, I think. Sometimes flowers other than tifuls would grow here, but I think that as long as we take soil from this area, it should be fine because the tifuls tend to grow all over this clearing."

Then, Gavin started to grab handfuls of the soil and put it into the small container. Michael helped him, and quickly regretted that they didn't bring any tools with them. The ground was quite soft, so it didn't take long for them to scoop up enough soil to fill up the box. They cleaned their hands off as much as they could, even though that did mean using up some of their water supply, and Gavin put the small box back into his bag.

And the last of the broken petals fell.

As Gavin was putting the box away, Michael looked up and realised how dark the sky had gotten since they had arrived. "So, now that that's been taken care of, we should find a place to stay for the night. Unless you want to just lay down right here under the stars?"

Gavin glanced around, until his gaze landed on something in the distance through the trees. When he turned back towards Michael, there was a wide grin on his face.

"I have an idea. At least, I hope I do."


	14. Back to Where it All Began (Part 2)

Gavin lead Michael further through the village, until they came to a stop in front of one of the houses. It seemed to be one of the most intact buildings that were left. It did have a sizeable hole in the side of it, but it seemed manageable.

"This is a good find. How did you know this was here?"

"It's my house."

" _What_? This is _your_ house?" Michael looked between the small tree house and Gavin. "How is it that it just happens to be one of the least damaged houses here?"

Gavin shrugged as he stepped up to the ladder leading up into the house. "I know it's not our style, but it seems like something actually wanted to go right for once."

Gavin began to make his way up the ladder, and when he reached the top, he opened up a hatch that lead into the house. When he began to crawl through the hatch, Michael made his own way up the ladder.

"Excuse the mess, I didn't have time to clean up," Gavin joked as Michael's head appeared through the hatch.

Michael wasn't really sure what he had been expecting the interior of the house to look like, but what he saw was way more impressive than he could have imagined a house built in the middle of a forest could look like. Then again, Jack and Geoff's house was built by just the two of them, so really it shouldn't have been a surprise.

The house was small, but cosy. There were a couple of shelves built onto the walls that contained a few little trinkets and, as Gavin had mentioned before, a couple of well-worn books, as well as a bed pushed into the corner that had a number of blankets and pillows a top of it. Even with a hole in one of the walls, it was quite warm in there.

The hole wasn't that big, probably about the same size as a very large dinner plate. It was quite miraculous that other than that, the house was left unscathed. It did make Michael wonder what had caused it, perhaps a big rock was thrown at the house or something.

Gavin was picking up some of the scattered remains of the wall that had littered the floor and was chucking them back out through the hole.

"Not too bad of a place you have here, where did you get all of this stuff? Surely you guys didn't make _everything_ ," Michael asked as he wandered over to one of the shelves and took a look at the little knick-knacks that lined them. He picked up a small figurine that caught his eye. It was of an archer, who had their bow taut as they stood on one leg and leant back, as if they were mid-fight and were just about to jump away whilst firing an arrow. Michael smiled as he looked at it for another moment before putting it back down.

"Well, maybe books weren't the only thing that was stolen from humans."

"Wow, Gavin. I never had you down for a thief."

"Hey, _I_ didn't take anything, and don't we deserve a little something in return for how you guys treat us?" Gavin had finished cleaning up the mess and dusted off his hands before he placed them on his hips and gave Michael a crooked grin.

"Touché."

Gavin laughed as he made his way across the room and picked up something that was next to the bed. Michael realised that it was a lantern, and after a moment it was lighting up the room.

"That's better," Gavin said as he placed the lantern back down.

It was. The night had fallen quickly, and there was only a small bit of light coming in through the window and the small hole. The lantern provided some extra light around the room, and Michael realised that there were things on the walls that he hadn't seen when the room was dim.

There were carvings along the wall, small pictures that looked like they had been crafted with something sharp. They were simple drawings, little doodles that looked like they had been done to pass the time.

"Got bored?" Michael gestured to the closest carving to him. He walked over to it and ran his fingers over it, and as he got closer, he saw that it was a little stick figure of a creeper.

"Okay, maybe it did get a _little_ uneventful at times."

Michael chuckled and Gavin made his way over to the bed to pick up one of the sheets that were on it.

"We can put this over the hole to keep the draft out." Gavin held up the sheet.

As if on cue, they were suddenly met with the _tap tap tap_ of rain hitting the window. Michael could already see the rain getting in through the hole, and he quickly hurried over to it.

"That's a good idea."

It probably took them a bit longer than it should have, but they had successfully managed to attach the sheet onto the wall. They had then taken the rest of the blankets and pillows off of the bed and laid them out on the floor, as the bed would be too small for both of them to sleep on.

"You can sleep on the bed, you know? There's no point in both of us sleeping on the floor."

"I can't leave you on the floor on your own, I wouldn't be a very good host, will I? And _you_ can sleep on the bed instead, if you want," Gavin said as he laid down the last pillow.

"Then _I_ would be the one leaving _you_ on the floor alone." Michael sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Let's just both sleep down here. It'll be warmer that way anyways."

Gavin smiled as he knelt down next to Michael. "Why, do you want to cuddle?"

"Wha- no, I-" Michael stammered. He could feel his cheeks heating up and he just wanted the floor to swallow him up.

Gavin seemed to find amusement in Michael's suffering as he dissolved into a fit of giggles. "I'm joking," he said. "But if you did want to, I wouldn't say no."

He winked, and Michael might as well have died right there and then.

"Of course you wouldn't, you're the one who always ends up moving over onto _my_ side of the bed anyways," Michael bantered back.

Michael smiled smugly when Gavin's face fell and he stopped laughing at him.

"But your side of the bed is always warmer!"

As if to emphasis his point, Gavin scooted himself over to be closer to where Michael was sitting.

"That's just because you're freezing cold." Michael playfully shoved him back to his own side. "Stay."

Michael pointed to Gavin's side of their makeshift bed, and Gavin laughed again as he scooted back.

"Okay, fine. I _guess_ I can stay here."

Their conversation ended there as they settled down and got ready to sleep, but Michael still felt like he had too much energy to rest yet.

He was laying down, and his gaze began to drift around the small house once again. He looked up at the ceiling and noticed that along with the carvings on the walls, there were also some stars carved along the ceiling.

It was quite nice to stare up at. He could imagine Gavin laying in that room and looking up at that very same ceiling every night, watching the stars as he drifted off to sleep.

Michael looked around the room a bit more. The whole place seemed very well put together. From the inside, you probably wouldn't have guessed that you were currently sitting in a tree. It was surprisingly comfortable on the floor as well, even with just a few blankets between them and the wooden floor. There was even enough floor space for the two of them to lay out without being in each other's spaces. However, the size of the room did make Michael think of something he hadn't really noticed before.

"Hey, Gavin?" Michael whispered, just in case Gavin had fallen asleep already.

"Hmm?" Gavin mumbled, although it didn't appear that Michael had woken him up.

"You lived here by yourself?"

"Yeah." Gavin rolled over to face Michael, and Michael did the same.

"What about your parents? Where did they live?" Gavin seemed old enough to be able to live by himself just fine, it's not like he _needed_ to live with his parents, but that wasn't really why Michael was asking. "Actually, I've never heard you mention your parents before, or any family for that matter."

Michael feared that he had said the wrong thing as Gavin's face instantly fell. He was quiet for a moment, and Michael was about to say that it didn't matter, that he didn't need to tell him if he didn't want to, but then Gavin spoke.

"My parents disappeared years ago," he said quietly. "One day they went out to explore, and they never came back."

"What?" Michael shouted a bit too loudly. He quietened his voice. "Why did you never tell me that?"

Gavin shrugged, seemingly unconcerned about the whole thing. "I guess it's just something I haven't thought about in a while. They weren't the first to disappear, or the last. It just happens to creepers."

"You can't just be okay with something like that, though!"

"I'm not, but...it's not like it's the worst thing that happens."

Suddenly, the village around them seemed that much more quiet, lonely. That bit more _broken_.

"Anyways, it was alright. The whole village could feel like a family, I wasn't alone."

Gavin went quiet then, but Michael could tell that wasn't the end of it.

"'Could'?"

Gavin sighed. "They could. They _would_ at times, but not always. Since my parents disappeared, I never really felt that close to anyone here anymore. It wasn't their fault, they did try, but even though I wasn't alone, I did feel like I was."

He wasn't looking at Michael, and he was fiddling with the edge of the blanket. Michael reached out and put his hand over Gavin's, and Gavin flashed his gaze up to look at him.

"Well, you're not alone anymore."

Gavin blushed and looked away again, and a shy smile crept onto his face. Michael watched him for a moment, and he couldn't help but smile wildly back at Gavin as his gaze flickered back over to him. Then, Gavin's eyes made contact with his, and all of a sudden Michael was hit with such a deep feeling of affection.

His breath hitched and his heart started to race and all he could think of was _Gavin_. How much he liked being with Gavin and how much he wanted to be with Gavin. Funny, silly Gavin. Gavin who tripped over his own feet more often than not, but could climb a tree in seconds. Gavin who seemed so quiet when Michael first met him, but now would almost never shut up. Gavin who always had something to laugh at, who could make the room light up with just his smile.

Gavin who Michael couldn't live without. Gavin who Michael couldn't find any more amazing.

"Is something wrong?" Gavin broke Michael out of his thoughts. A concerned look had slipped onto his face at Michael's silent staring.

"No, uh..." Michael squeezed his eyes shut and mentally tried to boost his own confidence. There were things that he wanted to say but lacked the courage to do so. After a few seconds, however, Michael's nerves still hadn't settled, so he opened his eyes again and hoped that with whatever happened next, he at least wouldn't make a fool of himself.

"Gavin..." Michael hesitated, unsure if he could bring himself to say anything else.

Gavin seemed to sense his hesitance as he gave Michael a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand from where they still held each other, and that gave Michael all the confidence that he needed.

"When you went away before, with Ryan, I missed you. Like, _really_ missed you. I've never missed anybody that much before. Hell, I've never missed _anyone_ before. It's crazy, though, right? I mean, we've only known each other for a short time, but I've never met anyone like you, Gavin." He paused to take a deep breath. "I don't think I could live without you."

He stopped for a moment to see what Gavin's reaction would be. His heart was still beating quickly, and it felt like he would have to wait an eternity for Gavin's response, but barely a beat had passed before Gavin replied.

"I really missed you, too."

Michael let go of the breath he had been holding. "You did?"

"Yeah," Gavin smiled. "I mean, Ryan's nice and all, but he's not you."

Michael allowed himself to relax slightly as Gavin continued. "You're not like anyone I've ever met before, either. I really enjoy being with you, and honestly, I was really happy that you were the only one that came with me here. You have been a really big help. Not just today, but from the moment I met you. You've been there for me since the beginning, and I've never thanked you."

Michael didn't realise that his gaze had drifted down to watch Gavin's mouth as he spoke.

"You don't need to thank me," he whispered, his gaze not wavering.

"Well, I'm thanking you now," Gavin said quietly as well, and he shifted a bit closer towards Michael so that their faces were almost touching.

Michael's eyes moved up to make contact with Gavin's, and Gavin stared back.

Michael was lost in the colours that seemed to swirl around Gavin's eyes, almost hypnotising him to move forward and close the rest of the distance between Gavin and him.

Michael didn't realise what he was doing until his lips met Gavin's. It was like every moment leading up to this he was in a daze, like he had been sleepwalking, and as soon as he kissed Gavin, he was suddenly awake. He began to worry that he had done the wrong thing, but before he could pull away, Gavin was kissing him back.

It was awkward lying sideways, but Michael barely even noticed. All he took in was the way that Gavin's lips felt against his, and how well they fit together.

Michael couldn't describe the way it made him feel, the way it felt. It was as if everything had settled into place, like this is exactly where they needed to be. His soul had been opened and allowed Gavin in, and now they were intertwined, connected, and all that existed in this world were the two of them.

Gavin pulled on their hands that were still entwined together and with it, Michael pressed harder. He pushed himself slightly off the floor with his free hand and moved so that he was somewhat leaning over Gavin. With Gavin's own free hand, he reached up to place it on the back of Michael's neck to draw him closer. Gavin still had a bandage wrapped around that hand, and Michael could feel the edges of it as it rubbed against his neck.

Several more moments passed, and then they were pulling away.

"That was..." Michael said breathlessly, trying to find the right word.

"Unexpected," Gavin provided from beneath him. "But not unwelcomed."

Michael moved to lay back down next to Gavin.

"Um, I don't really know what- er- what we're supposed to do now," Michael stammered. He had managed to eventually calm himself down, but now it seemed that his nerves wanted to make themselves known again. Maybe it was the fact that he had his true feelings out there now, with no way to take them back, that made him a little anxious.

However, it was as if Gavin had some sort of power that made him know just what he needed to say to make Michael feel better.

"Are we _supposed_ to do anything? Can we not just do what we want, and let whatever happens next, just happen?" He reassured Michael, and Michael managed to relax again. Gavin was right, there wasn't anything that they had to do right now.

It seemed like Michael's body was quickly becoming more relaxed than his mind, as anything that Michael wanted to say next was cut off by a yawn.

Gavin laughed. "Maybe what we should do now, is sleep."

"I think you're right." Michael gave Gavin a tired smile, of which Gavin returned.

"Goodnight, Gavin."

"Goodnight, Michael."

Michael watched him for a moment longer, and then he turned onto his back and closed his eyes, the stars carved on the ceiling etched into his mind.

Maybe they should talk about what had just happened, about what it meant for them and their relationship, but it was late and they were tired. For now, they could just bask in the moment they had shared together. Anything that needed to be said or done could wait until the morning.

And if Michael woke up the next day with Gavin on his side of the bed again, he didn't complain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	15. Build and Make and Craft and Ache

"Can't we just stay here for a bit?" Michael asked from where he was laying on the ground. His eyes were closed and he was still beneath the blankets, refusing to get up. "The others can wait for us."

He heard Gavin chuckle from where he was hovering above him.

"Maybe they can, but if we leave now, we can make it back before dark."

"Does that really matter, though? Nothing is gonna come attack us at night that won't attack us during the day, not that there's anything like that in this part of the forest anyway. And, we can just take a lantern with us so that we can see where we're going."

Michael heard Gavin shuffle about and peeked an eye open. He saw Gavin had come to kneel down next to him.

"How about you think of it as the quicker we make it back, the sooner you'll get to enjoy Geoff and Jack's cooking?"

Michael hated how much he liked the sound of that.

"Fiiine," he moaned and he slowly sat up.

They gathered up their things and got ready to head out and embark on their journey back home.

"Got everything?" Michael asked from where he was waiting by the hatch.

"Yeah, I think so." Gavin looked around the room to make sure that he hadn't forgotten anything. However, he hesitated slightly and stared at his home for several more moments, before he turned back to face Michael.

When he faced Michael again, there was a solemn look on his face. Michael could see that there was a sense of longing there, and he was pretty sure he knew why.

"You don't want to leave, do you?"

Gavin was quick to shake his head. "No, it's not that. I mean, I do want to but..."

"But it's hard to say goodbye again?" Michael provided, to which Gavin nodded. "That's understandable, this was your home after all."

"I know I can't stay here anymore. I'm not even sure I want to. But I still miss it. I wish I could just pick it all up and move it."

Michael thought about that for a moment, before an idea popped into his head.

"Why can't we do just that?"

"What do you mean?" Gavin gave Michael a confused look as he made his way over to one of the shelves. "We can't just drag this whole house back to Geoff and Jack's."

"We may not be able to take all of it, but we can at least take some of it." Michael picked up a book that was on the shelf and turned to show it to Gavin.

Gavin's face lit up as he understood what Michael was getting at. He quickly walked over to where Michael was standing.

"I can do that?"

"I don't see why not. We've got space in our bags to carry some stuff back, and I'm sure Geoff and Jack won't mind."

Gavin looked like an ecstatic child morning with the way he started to bounce on his feet and a grin stretched out over his face.

They spent the next few minutes gathering a few of the various trinkets around Gavin's home that they could take with them, including the small collection of books that he had, as well as the small archer figurine. There were a few things that Gavin decided to leave behind, but he assured Michael that they weren't things that he particularly cared about leaving anyway.

Several moments later, they were making their way out of the treehouse and were back on the ground.

"Are you sure you're ready to leave now?"

"Yep!" Gavin seemed much happier about leaving now than he had just several minutes before, and Michael was pleased that he was able to help him feel just that bit better.

"Let's go then!"

They were still making their way back through the village when Michael stopped again. Something had caught his eye that he hadn't noticed before.

"What's this?"

Michael walked over to one of the trees that they had just walked by. It was probably the biggest tree that Michael seen so far in the village, probably one of the biggest that Michael had seen in the forest. It didn't look much taller than the others, but it had a much thicker trunk and quite a number of branches grew off of it.

It wasn't the size of the tree that caught Michael's attention, however. It was the fact that there were words carved into the trunk. Well, Michael assumed they were words. The letters were slightly different to what he was used to, but the layout of the small symbols seemed like they were put together to create a small passage of text.

Gavin made his way over to the tree to examine it next to Michael, and when Michael turned to look at him, he saw that his eyebrows were furrowed and there were a mix of emotions on his face.

"What is it?" Michael was slightly concerned at Gavin silence as he looked at the tree, but that grew into confusion as a shocked look appeared on Gavin's face.

"They're safe," Gavin said so quietly that Michael almost didn't hear him.

"What?"

"They're safe!" Gavin was almost jumping up and down as he frantically pointed at the tree. "They're safe and I know where they are!"

"Wait, slow down. Where who are? Creepers?"

"Yeah! It says that those who survived have found another place in the forest to set up a new village. It says the location right here!" Gavin pointed at a specific place amongst all of the jumbled letters, although Michael had no idea what it said.

"You know what this says?"

"Yeah, it's sort of like our own language. Before creepers learnt the language of you humans, they made up their own language to write in. It seems as though the other creepers who survived regrouped here, figured that it wasn't safe to stay, so they found somewhere else to rebuild the village and carved the location on here. So that anyone who came back would find them again! I guess they wrote it in this language so that no guards or anyone else who passed through here would be able to find out where they went."

"That's great!" Michael was really happy for Gavin. He now knew that there were other survivors like him, and that they had found somewhere safe to rebuild their lives again.

But then a thought suddenly hit Michael. He sort of wished that it had never entered his mind, but he knew that it was something that he couldn't avoid asking. He needed to know the answer, sooner or later. And after what they had just uncovered, it had to be sooner.

"So, I suppose you want to go join them, then?"

"What?"

"Now you know where they all are, you're probably thinking of going there, right?" Michael didn't want to admit how much he didn't want Gavin to leave. He knew it was selfish, though. He couldn't make Gavin stay with him if he didn't want to, but he just so desperately didn't want him to go. Not when it felt like he had only just got him.

"No," Gavin said, firmly.

"No?" Michael was shocked by that response. "Don't you miss them? I thought you were dying to go back to them."

"Of course I miss them, and yeah I desperately wanted to see them all again. But that was before I met all of you. And besides, I can't exactly go there now when we still have so much to do."

"Do you not want to go back to them after we've finished with all of this." Michael gestured to nothing in particular around them.

Gavin seemed to think about that for a moment, before he shook his head. "No. Well, maybe at some point I might, just so they know that I'm okay, but not right now. They don't need me, I'm sure they can make an amazing village without me. I mean, most of this was made before I was born anyway. I'd probably just be more of a hindrance than a help anyway."

He laughed, and Michael allowed himself to let out a small chuckle as well, his mood having been lifted whilst Gavin had been speaking.

"Besides, I don't want to leave you, or the others." He stepped forward and reached out for Michael's hand, which Michael happily let him hold. "You guys are like a family, the first family I've had in a while. I don't think I could bring myself to leave even if I wanted to.

"Plotting to kill the king does bring you closer to someone."

Gavin laughed again. "Yeah, it does. So why don't we go back to home and finish this?"

"I'm not sure if you're referring to finishing off our plan, or finishing off the king, but either way I agree."

They turned to head back out of the village, and as they walked off, they still tightly held onto each other's hands.

* * *

"You'd think that Geoff, who has command over all animals, could have at least invested in some horses so that we could- Whoa."

Despite the fact that they had left early in the morning, it still ended up getting dark before they made it back to the cottage. Thankfully, they were practically just around the corner when it grew almost too dark to see where they were going. The house was a beacon in the trees, and they were able to see it from a little distance away, which made the final few steps of their journey nice and easy.

Gavin didn't know why it had taken them longer to get back to the house than it had taken them to get to the village. Although, it was most likely the fact that they had taken a few more stops on the way, as they weren't in as much of a hurry. And if Gavin were honest, he wanted to spend a little bit more time with just Michael before they reunited with the others.

Michael had just been in the middle of a rant about how the whole journey would have been a lot shorter if they had a better mode of transport when they had finally made it to the house.

As they reached the edge of the fence, Gavin could see what had stunned Michael.

The front garden of the house appeared to have been converted into a small workshop. There was what seemed to be a workbench out next to the flowerbed, with several tools left out on top of it. There were also a few boxes scattered around it on the ground, and when Gavin wandered over to get a closer look, he saw that there were a couple more boxes left in the chicken pen, along with a very large pile of chopped wood. Gavin had a peek inside the box closest to him and saw that it was filled with small chunks of metal. It looked just like the metal that Gavin had watch morph from the feathers of Geoff's chicken Tallum.

There was no one else outside expect for the two of them, so Gavin suspected that everyone had retired inside for the evening as it had grown quite dark.

The two of them made their way to the front door and were surprised to find it unlocked. The others had probably left it unlocked in the hope that the two of them would be back soon, and so they opened the door.

They were immediately met with the sounds of the others in the middle of some sort of conversation and the smell of a recently cooked meal.

Heads turned towards the door as it opened, and when the others saw who it was at the door they almost leapt out of their seats. They probably would have, if they weren't in the middle of stuffing food in their faces.

"Hey!" Jeremy said after he had swallowed a mouthful of food. "Did you get the flowers?"

"Yep!" Gavin quickly pulled the bag off of his back and rummaged through it to look for the wooden box.

"Well, we sort of did. The flowers had died, but we got this from the area," he said as he handed the box to Jack.

Jack opened it to find the soil that was inside.

"Is this from where the flowers grew?" He asked.

Gavin nodded sheepishly, worried that they hadn't done it correctly.

"Then it should be just fine." He smiled reassuringly. "You two must be starving. There's enough food for everyone, I'll get you some."

As Jack got up from the table with his own empty plate, Gavin shot Michael a look that said something along the lines of _'I said we would get some food when we got back.'_ Michael gave Gavin his own look that said he didn't appreciate Gavin's _‘I told you so’_ attitude, but the attempt to look intimidating was lost as his eyes lit up when he saw the plate of food that was made for him.

The dining table was fairly small and only allowed room for four of them to sit at it at one time, so Geoff and Jack gave up their seats for Michael and Gavin as they had already finished their meal. As the two of them began to tuck into their food, they asked the question of what was with all the mess outside.

"Whilst you two were away, we managed to come up with a plan of what we're going to do," Geoff began from where he leant on a kitchen counter. "Part of it involved making weapons, which we happen to have all of the tools and materials for, so that's what we've been doing outside. Although, we haven't made that much progress on it yet as we only started late yesterday afternoon."

"What's the rest of the plan, then?" Michael asked around a mouthful of food.

"First, we're going to head to the smaller entrance into the city that Jeremy took Gavin and I through before," Ryan explained. "Jack and Geoff are going to head in first. After consuming the tiliaceus they should be fine to enter with no problem, and they're the only ones out of us who won't have the problem of being recognised by any of the guards. They're going to head straight to the jousting arena, which is where the king should hopefully be all day. They'll keep an eye on him until we get there.

“Jeremy has informed us that another big part of the festival is face painting, which should hopefully be enough to cover up our identities and stop any guards from recognising us. Sadly, we don't have any face paint here, but apparently they sell it in the village just outside of the city. We should be fine to buy it there, and then after that we'll all head into the city.

"Each of us are going to wear cloaks to cover up any weapons we carry and the armour that we will be wearing. This also means that you can wear whatever you like underneath, like if Gavin wanted to wear his creeper garbs, then he is fully welcome to. We'll only be wearing them to the arena anyways. When it's time, we can take them off."

Gavin smiled slightly at that. He didn't like the idea of having to wear something different again.

"As for anyone who seems to find us at all suspicious or looks at us a little too long, I can just use my magic to get them to turn around and keep on walking."

Ryan paused to allow Gavin and Michael to take in what he had said so far.

They were all quiet for a moment, before Michael leant back in his chair, his arms crossed as he shrugged. "Well, it's not the worst plan you could have come up with."

Gavin heard Geoff laugh from where he stood behind them. "Yeah, it's not fantastic, but we're working with what we've got here."

A moment later, Geoff move forward and stood closer to the table so that they could all see him. "We think that this could work to at least get us into the city. That was the biggest problem we needed to figure out. Now, we just need to work out the endgame."

"You mean the part where we..." Jeremy then proceeded to draw his finger across his throat.

"Yeah. That bit."

"So, what are all the weapons for then?" Gavin asked, still not understanding their need for them. Some of them already had their own weapons, and those of them that didn't had their own magic that they could use if they needed it.

"Just a precaution, really. We don't know what's going to happen once we get there, so we might as well not take any chances. Wouldn't hurt us to have a sword or something each, just in case." Jack picked up the rest of the empty plates from the table and took them into the kitchen. "We'll show you all that we've done outside tomorrow."

After that, their conversation soon dissolved into their usual chatter. Michael and Gavin told the others about their little journey to Gavin's village, although they didn't share much other than what the village was like and how they stayed in Gavin's old house.

They failed to mention what had happened that night in the house, though. Gavin didn't want the others to know just yet, and it seemed Michael felt the same way. What had come out of their journey was new and different and neither of them even knew what it meant or what would happen next. It was their own little secret, and they wanted to keep it that way until they were sure they knew what they were doing.

Gavin also didn't mention that he knew where the other creepers had headed to. He didn't know why he was quiet on that subject, but there was a small part of him that feared what their reactions would be. They would most likely be supportive and encourage him to head back there, if that's what he wished, but that was what scared him. He really did not know what he was going to do.

On the one hand, he longed to be back to his old life with his own people, but he also knew that with what had happened, it would never be the same as it had been. On the other hand, he didn't want to leave the people who he now considered friends, family even. Like his kiss with Michael, he wanted to wait until he was one hundred percent sure he knew what was going on in his own head before he let the others in.

Before they knew it, the next day had rolled around and they were all waking up to a day that would be spent entirely getting ready for the festival.

Gavin was currently in his room. He was sitting on the bed as he finished tying on his boots, and was just about to get up when Michael walked in.

"Hey," Michael said as he walked over to him. His hair was still wet from where he had just washed it. There were small droplets of water still falling from it as the tips began to curl.

"Hi."

Gavin couldn't help but give Michael a wide grin as he came over to sit next to him. Michael had picked up his shoes on the way over and he leant down to put them on.

"What are you smiling at?" Michael asked when he noticed Gavin watching him.

Gavin shrugged. He tried to wipe the smile from his face, or at least reduce it, but he couldn't. He didn't even want to, anyway.

"Nothing in particular," he replied.

Michael sat back up as he finished fiddling with his shoes.

"That's sucks, for a moment I thought that it was because of me," he teased. "But you know what, it would make sense for you to just be smiling at nothing. Probably have a few screws loose up there."

He poked at Gavin's skull.

"Michael!" Gavin pushed his hand away, but couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably at it.

"What? I'm simply voicing what we're all thinking."

"Geoff and Jack would never say that!"

"That's my point. They would never _say_ it, but they would think it." He was now the one who was grinning as he stood up from the bed.

"We should probably go see what the others got up to whilst we were away, then. Although, I can't imagine that they had as much fun as us."

He reached out his hand towards Gavin, and Gavin took hold of it as he stood up from bed.

"Yeah, we definitely had a better time than them."

Throughout the day, Michael and Gavin were taught by the others how they were making the weapons. They weren't making that many, just enough so they could all have at least a sword or dagger each. They also made several arrows, which was pretty much just for Gavin, so that was where Gavin decided to appoint himself for the day.

Gavin had picked up pretty quickly on what he needed to do, so soon after Jack had taught him how to make them, he had left Gavin to his own devices as he went to go and help the others.

"You're pretty good at that."

Gavin looked up to find Michael had made his way over to him. Gavin wasn't completely sure what Michael had been helping with exactly, he just seemed to meander between everybody's stations. Michael was pointing at the sizeable pile of arrows that already sat next to Gavin.

"Do you just have a secret talent for making arrows?"

"I just said that _most_ of my village was built before I was born, not all of it."

"Ah, so what you mean is that all this time we shouldn't have been scared that creepers were going to blow us up, but what we really should have been worried about is that you're actually going to take all the jobs from our builders and blacksmiths."

"It's all part of our plan to take over the world, actually. Building our own houses was just step one."

"I don't think I want to know what the world would be like with you in charge."

Michael picked up one of the newly completed arrows to inspect it closer.

"Speaking of...do you know who's gonna do it."

"Do what?" Gavin placed down the arrow he was currently in the middle of making to look up at Michael.

Michael didn't say anything. Instead, he rotated the arrow around so that the sharp point was directed at him, and then he pretended to stab himself in his own heart with it. Repeatedly. He even threw in a dramatic death noise.

"Okay, I get it," Gavin chuckled as he took the arrow off of Michael before he broke it. "And, I don't know. No one's really spoken about it, but someone has to do it, right?"

They both looked over at the other four who were busy with making their own weapons and such.

"I know Ryan doesn't want it, and I guess you don't either." Gavin cast a quick glance to Michael.

Michael frowned and he turned back to Gavin. "There's nothing more that I want than to just kill that man, but to become king? Yeah, that's not my thing. You don't want to do it either?"

Gavin just shook his head as he picked up his tools to start making the arrows again. "Not my thing, either."

He could feel Michael watching him for a few moments as he stood next to him, before he saw him reach out to pick up another one of Gavin's tools.

"Teach me how to make one of these."

"What?" Gavin looked up in shock. "You want to learn how to make arrows?"

"Yeah, why not? I need to make myself useful somehow, and you're way more interesting than the others."

Gavin couldn't help but smile ecstatically as he shuffled over to allow Michael some space on the workbench, and he tried, and failed, to keep his enthusiasm down as he delved into a tutorial on how to make the arrows.

The next few days went by in a familiar fashion. They woke up, ate breakfast, and then got to work on preparing for the festival. They soon had their weapons prepared, and instead spent their time ensuring that they all knew how to use them to the best of their abilities.

Geoff and Jack also worked on trying to improve the ways that they could use their magic, as they had never used it for fighting, or even for anything other than building their home and making their lives slightly easier whilst living in the middle of a forest. They wanted to utilise this skill though, as it was the one thing they had over the king and any of his guards.

_"Gavin, check this out."_

_Gavin took a break from where he had been practising firing arrows at a tree to watch Jack as he wandered over toward him with something in his hand. Gavin peered quizzically at it when he realised it was a fist full of soil._

_"What are you-"_

_"Just watch."_

_Jack stood next to Gavin and faced towards the tree in front of them. Then, he was throwing the soil into the air in front of him. As he did so, his hand began to glow the usual green that appeared when he was using his magic._

_Instantly, vines and roots spread through the air that grew from the scattered soil that was quickly falling to the ground. The vines shot towards the tree and wrapped themselves around its trunk._

_"Woah." Gavin dropped his bow on the floor as he hurried towards the tree to inspect the vines. "How did you do that?"_

_"You don't need the soil to be in the ground to grow things from it." Jack stepped up next to him and ran his hands along the vines. "When I remembered that, I started to think of ways that I could use that to my advantage. Turns out that as long as the soil's there, I can get plants to grow, even if it is flying through the air."_

_"That's really cool!"_

_"I figured that with Ozryon being a city and all, there probably isn't that much greenery there. So, I might as well bring my own."_

_"In your own fashion."_

_Jack chuckled as he reached for the vines and began to unwrap them from the tree._

_"Exactly." He pulled off the last vine and threw it to the floor, freeing the tree to be abused by Gavin's arrows once again. "I'll let you get back to it. I'm going to go show the others and see if there are any other cool tricks I can pull off."_

_He waved Gavin goodbye, and Gavin waved back as he picked up his bow and got back to practising._

The day where they were to set off for the festival felt like it had arrived quicker than they had thought it would, but in actual fact in arrived just in time. They were as ready as they could be. They had built a plan and had crafted the tools they would need to execute it. They just needed to hope that everything would go the way it was supposed to.

They were going to head out in the evening, just a couple of days before the festival was due to begin. This would leave them with plenty of time to reach the city, rest a bit, and go over their plan again before the festival arrived.

Right now, they were all getting their things ready to set off in just a few hours. Gavin had most of his things ready, and so he wandered through the house, trying to find one person in particular.

He passed by Ryan and Jeremy in the living room, who were in the middle of some heated discussion about who knew what, and Jack and Geoff, who were in the kitchen cooking one last meal before they set off. Gavin pushed open the door into his shared bedroom with Michael and found just who he had been looking for.

Michael had all of his stuff laid out on his side of the bed, and when Gavin walked into the room Michael looked up at him, seeming a bit lost.

"I have no idea what I'm supposed to take. Like, what do you need for something like this?"

Gavin shrugged as he went to sit down on the opposite side of the bed, his legs crossed.

"I'm probably not the best person to ask that. Honestly, I just threw a few things into my bag and hoped for the best."

Michael stared at his own things, contemplating it for a moment, before he shrugged and just started stuffing a variety of things into his own bag.

Gavin watched him for a moment before he spoke again. "I do have something you can take."

Michael paused his movements to look up at Gavin, a suspicious glance appearing on his face. Gavin reached into his pocket and held out his gift towards Michael.

Michael didn't take it straight away, just stared at it as if he was waiting for a further explanation from Gavin.

"It's to replace your old one, that I lost." he said as Michael finally took the small, hand-made dagger from him. "I feel really bad for losing it, I'm sorry."

Michael was still looking at it in confusion, until realisation hit and instead a reassuring smile took over.

"Don't sweat it, I actually forgot all about it. At the time I cared more about whether or not you were alright than if my dagger was fine. But thank you, this is really nice. When did you make this?"

"When you were off practising your sword fighting with Jeremy. I had Ryan help me."

Michael held the dagger closer to his face as he got a better look at it. Gavin had taken extra care in making sure that it was of the best quality that he could manage. He had even carved intricate patterns along the handle, all swirls and twirls, which was how Michael made his heart feel whenever he was around.

"Well, you weren't the only one who was busy whilst the other wasn't around."

Michael reached down to the floor, and Gavin tried to peer over the edge of the bed to see what was down there. Barely a second passed before Michael had picked up the object off the floor, and Gavin recognised it as some armour. It was leather and looked very similar to what Michael wore.

"I wasn't about to let you head in there without some protection. Everyone else had armour, and I wanted to make you some as well. I had Jack help me." Michael straightened out the chest plate and held it out in front of him. "C'mere."

Gavin crawled over to the other side of the bed and stood up in front of Michael. Michael then proceeded to help Gavin slip into the armour and fasten it onto his clothes. It reminded Gavin of when Michael had given him his dagger what felt like weeks ago. Gavin smiled at the close proximity of Michael's body next to his, and when Michael was finished with the armour he looked up and found Gavin watching him closely.

"Thanks," Gavin said when Michael was done, but neither of them moved apart just yet.

"No problem. It was nothing, really. Thank you for my dagger."

"No problem, it was nothing," Gavin copied, and laughed at the annoyed look Michael gave him.

"Alright, asshole." Michael gave him a light shove, but still gave him a kiss before they moved apart. "Now, I need to get back to your extremely helpful packing advice, and put all of my things into one bag and 'hope for the best.'"

"I'll leave you to it, then. Have fun!" Gavin called with a wave as he left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are about to kick off real soon...


	16. Entering the Danger Zone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the end.

It was the night before the festival. The six of them had made it to the edge of the forest, right by the city walls. They had set up camp for the night in a small clearing, deep enough into the forest that no one would see them unless they entered the forest.

The night was a bit cold, and they wanted to light a fire to keep warm, but they knew that if they did then it would draw unwanted attention. So, instead they huddled close together. The cloaks they were all wearing were big and pretty thick, so it did a good job of providing at least some warmth. Gavin was cuddled close to Michael to stay warm, and Michael had wrapped an arm around him to keep him close.

"A toast!" Geoff suddenly announced and raised his water flask high. "To changing the world!"

"Isn't a toast usually done with alcohol, or at least something a little more interesting than just water?" Michael asked.

"Shut up, people do it with water all the time. It's all we have. You're ruining the moment!"

They all laughed, but followed suit and grabbed their own flasks.

"To changing the world, one monarch death at a time!" Ryan also raised his flask.

"Cheers!" They all called in unison and took a swig of their water.

They settled into a comfortable silence after that. It was nice to just sit in each other's company for a bit. It was peaceful and serene, a calm before the storm that was tomorrow.

"So, who is actually going to kill him?" Jeremy spoke up after several minutes of silence, seeming a little hesitant. "I mean, you're not just killing a man, but you're also taking over the throne. That's a big deal."

"How did we make it this far and we still never settled on that one minor detail?" Michael now had both of his arms wrapped around Gavin, and Gavin could feel the vibrations when he spoke from where he was leaning against his chest.

"We'll do it."

All their heads turned towards the voice who had spoken. Geoff and Jack were sitting against their own tree, huddling close like Michael and Gavin were. They were looking at each other, and then they turned their attention towards the rest of them. They didn't say anything else, they just watched them like they expected some kind of reaction out of them.

Ryan broke the silence with what they all were thinking. "What, you think this surprises us? I think we were all kind of hoping it would be you two."

The rest of them nodded their heads in agreement, and Geoff and Jack looked slightly shocked.

"Huh. I thought there would be a bit more resistance."

"To be honest, I couldn't think of a better two people to rule over us." From where Gavin sat, he couldn't see Michael's face, but he was sure that he was smiling with that statement.

"Aww, I'm honoured." Geoff put his hand to his chest affectionately. "However, don't think that you're all going to get off lightly. We'll need people to help us once we've gotten rid of all of the king's fuckers in the palace."

"If I knew this was going to end in _work_ , I wouldn't have signed up for it."

"Don't kid, Michael. I know out of all of us you're the most excited about this."

"You can't prove anything!"

"Admit it, you would just love to live in a palace."

"Never!"

Gavin was jostled as Michael picked up a stick and threw it at Geoff. It hit him straight in the nose, and there was a beat as the stick fell to the floor and a glare slowly appeared on Geoff's face.

"Oh, you're gonna pay."

Geoff reached for a stick close to him, a bigger one than what Michael had, and threw it back at him. Although, he missed and instead it hit Gavin straight in the forehead.

"Hey!" Gavin yelled as he rubbed his head.

"Oops, sorry, Gav."

"Nah, don't be sorry. He's my shield." And then Gavin was jostled more as Michael moved him to sit up in front of him so Michael could hide behind him. Then, Michael picked up several more sticks and lobbed them all at Geoff.

That was how their stick fight began. Soon everybody was involved and were throwing little sticks at each other. It went on for several minutes before Jack intervened.

"Okay, okay." Jack had his hands up, surrendering, but he was still laughing. "Let's stop before one of us loses an eye. That's exactly what we _don't_ need right now. Instead, we should all think about going to sleep."

They all muttered an agreement and settled down again, breathless but all with smiles on their faces. Gavin was pretty sure he heard a mumbled _"killjoy"_ from Geoff as he closed his eyes and got comfortable for the night.

The next morning, they were up early, but they could already hear loud noises coming from the city as the festival began. They gathered up all their things and prepared to head off into the city.

Jack had managed to make a concoction for him and Geoff to drink. It included the tifuls that he had ground up and mixed with some other liquids that made the flowers drinkable. He took out a couple of glass bottles from his bag and handed one to Geoff, and they both downed their drinks at once.

The effects were instantaneous. One moment their eyes were their usual mismatched colour, then the next they had shifted into an orangey-brown, almost ginger, colour. It was a good job that the flowers were of a more natural colour this time of year. It wouldn't have been great if Geoff and Jack showed up with, say, pink eyes. That would have probably raised even more questions.

After that was done, they were ready to go, and they waved Geoff and Jack off first. They wanted to wait several minutes before the rest of them headed out of the forest, as a smaller group would draw less attention.

Once Ryan had deemed that enough time had passed, he gestured for them to follow him. Jeremy walked behind him and Gavin moved to do the same, but he was stopped by the hand that tugged on his arm.

Gavin turned around to face Michael. He had a nervous look on his face and when Gavin faced him, Michael's gaze went down to the floor before it came back up again.

"Gavin, I-" Michael hesitated.

"What is it?" Gavin asked, beginning to feel worried.

Michael took a deep breath before he started again. "Gavin, we don't know what's going to happen once we're in there. One of us could get hurt or we could be caught before we even get in or-"

He was beginning to ramble, so Gavin reached down to grasp the hand that was holding onto his wrist and gave it a squeeze. Michael glanced down to look at their hands entwined together, and it seemed to calm him down. He took another moment to catch his breath, and then he got to the point.

"I don't want anything to happen to you. I won't let anything happen to you. I know you don't need me, you can take care of yourself, but I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you because I..." Michael trailed off, but he didn't need to continue. Gavin understood what he was getting at.

"I know. Me too."

Michael looked at him in surprise before he relaxed. Gavin gave him a reassuring smile before he leant in to kiss him. Each time Gavin kissed Michael it still sent butterflies through his belly and made him feel like an excited child.

When the two of them broke apart, Gavin leant his forehead against Michael's.

"We've got this."

Gavin could still see a hint of nerves in Michael's eyes, but Michael gave him a nod and smiled back. Pleased, Gavin stepped back from Michael and pulled him along with him and they followed the other two out of the forest.

There was no sign of Geoff and Jack when they got closer to the city. That was good, that meant that they had gotten in safely.

The four of them made their way over to the village that sat just outside of the city. Even though it was still fairly early, there were already countless people around and a number of stalls set up along the path that lead to the gates. They were all selling a variety of different things for the festival, including the exact thing that they were looking for.

They purchased a few of the pots of face paint and then made their way to a quiet area of the village. Michael did Gavin's paint whilst Ryan did Jeremy's, and then they would swap over.

"Stop smiling, you're going to mess it up."

"I can't, it's cold."

"You don't need to smile if it's cold. Just stop moving, I'm almost done."

Gavin waited patiently as Michael finished up his face paint. A few strokes later, and Michael was stepping back from Gavin. He looked at Gavin for a moment before he nodded in approval at his work and then handed the paint to Gavin.

"What did you do for me?"

"You'll just have to find out." Michael rocked back on his heels and gave him a crooked smile.

Gavin rolled his eyes and wandered over to the window of the closest building. In his reflection he could see that his face was painted white and there were red and black diamonds over his eyes. There were red streaks that stretched along from his lips like a wide smile, and there were a few smaller diamonds scattered around the rest of his face.

Gavin smiled at Michael's work and then hurried back over to him.

"Your turn!"

"Make sure I look like a badass," Michael said as he closed his eyes.

Gavin looked down at the paint colours he had in front of him, and grinned as he came up with an idea. He rubbed his fingers in the paint and began to trace the coloured streaks across Michael's face.

It took him several minutes until he decided that his work was complete. He moved back from Michael to get a good look at him.

"How do I look?" Michael asked as he tilted his chin up and put his hands on his hips.

From Michael's forehead all the way down to his jaw, Gavin had painted a rainbow of colours. They sat in multiple diagonal lines that went down the centre of Michael's face, leaving the sides of his face clear from paint.

"Beautiful."

Michael walked over to the same window that Gavin went to.

"Hey!" Michael turned away from his reflection to frown at Gavin. "This doesn't look very badass."

"Sure it does!"

"Are you two done?"

Gavin turned around to find that Ryan and Jeremy were watching them, both with paint all over their faces.

Ryan's face was painted white and over that black was painted over his eyes, nose and mouth to make his face look like a skull. There were also colourful flowers and patterns that filled up the rest of Ryan's face. It was pretty impressive work from Jeremy when all he had were his fingers and some cheap paint. Although, after seeing his wooden carvings, Gavin shouldn't have been surprised at his talent.

However, Jeremy's face looked a lot different to his work. It was as if Ryan had taken every colour of paint they had and splattered it across Jeremy's head. The paint was smudged and blurred together, in some places blended and in others a stark contrast of colours.

At first glance it seemed that Ryan had no artistic talent and had just covered Jeremy's face in paint and hoped for the best. But in actual fact, it was a pretty smart idea. Jeremy was probably the one who would be the most recognisable to the guards at the gate. Although, with all the colours it was hard to tell who Jeremy was beneath the paint. Ryan had even painted some of Jeremy's bald scalp.

"Yep!" Gavin replied and gave Michael a smug smile, knowing that he would just have to stick with the face paint Gavin gave him.

Michael glared at him, but there was nothing malicious about it, and then the two of them were following Ryan and Jeremy into the city.

Lots of people were already making their way through the gate and into the city, a number of them also sporting their own face paint. It was much busier than when Ryan, Jeremy and Gavin had come through here before, and Gavin wondered how crowded the main entrance was.

Amongst all the people, Gavin couldn't see any guards at the gate. He wasn't sure if it was because they were lost in the sea of people or there just weren't any around. Although, he still felt nervous as he approached the gate.

He thought that it was because of the fear of being captured again, but several moments later they were through the gate with no problem and the nervous feeling never left Gavin. If anything, it got worse as he and the others began to make their way into the city.

His breathing seemed to pick up and he suddenly felt sick and sweaty. He didn't realise what had caused his sudden nerves until he felt his heart start to race the same time Jeremy began to speak about where the jousting arena was.

It was time. It was actually happening and there was no turning back now, no time left to change their plan or prepare just a bit more. At the time when they came up with the plan, it felt like they had plenty of time. They had done everything that they had set out to do in preparation, but now it felt like the festival had come too soon. They needed more time, they couldn't do this now!

Gavin had been so preoccupied with what they were doing and how they were going to do it, he hadn't had a chance to let it all sink in. Now it was hitting him that they were really going through with this. It wasn't just something they were talking about, they _meant_ it all. They were _actually going kill the king_.

Michael seemed to notice his hesitation as Gavin had slowed down and was now walking behind them all. Michael turned to face him, an understanding look on his face as he held out his hand.

Michael knew, because Michael had been feeling the same way just this morning. He had been feeling his own anxieties, and Gavin had helped him then. What had Gavin told him? That they had this, that they would win. He had to believe his own words otherwise everything would fall apart, himself included.

So, instead of losing himself in his nerves, he blew out a steady breath and took the offered hand. Together they continued on into the city and entered the fray.

The city got busier and louder the further they walked into it. It also got more colourful, which was quite different to how it looked just a week or so before. Flags were flapping in the wind and ribbon was strung across the buildings, connecting them together. The clothes that the city goers wore were also vibrant, a lot of them sharing the colours of the flags.

There was some music that was progressively getting louder the closer they got to the city centre. It seemed that everybody wanted to go the same way that they were heading, as the streets were beginning to get packed. Gavin was glad that he still had a hold of Michael's hand, otherwise he was sure he would get lost in the crowd.

Soon the street they were on opened out into a wide area and the people around them suddenly dispersed. Although it looked very different from when Gavin had been there before, he recognised the area as to where the marketplace was. There were still some stalls around, but a lot of them had been replaced by a number of different festivities.

There were what appeared to be some games that people were taking part in. Gavin didn't know what you had to do for them, but it seemed that if you won you got given a price. In the distance, Gavin could see where the source of the music was coming from. There was a small raised platform off to the side of the market area where some people were playing a variety of instruments. There was also a cleared area in front of the platform where a crowd had gathered to dance.

"Woah." Gavin couldn't help but slow down as he took in everything around him. It wasn't like anything he had ever seen before. There were so many people and so much was going on around him. It was kind of sad that this wasn't what they were here for, otherwise he would love to stick around for a bit.

Gavin noticed that Michael had stopped next to him as well to take it all in. Gavin figured that Michael hadn't ever been to a festival before either, if the wide-eyed expression on his face was anything to go by.

"Come on, guys. We need to keep going." Ryan said, amused as he noticed the two of them had stopped behind him. "We can celebrate later."

"I don't think there'll be much celebrating in a bit," Michael mumbled next to Gavin with a grim look, but they continued on.

To get to the jousting arena, they needed to get through the mass of people. It took them a while as there were so many people around and they didn't want to lose each other. They were just weaving around a small crowd of people who were standing around a stall when something caught Gavin's eye.

He turned and found that it was the notice board that he and Ryan had looked at when they were first in the city. However, now there was new stuff on there. Particularly, new wanted posters, and when Gavin looked closer, he could see Ryan's and his faces on them.

Ryan's picture looked just like him. Even in the sketch his hair was swept back, and without colour in the drawing his eyes just seemed ordinary. Although, Gavin wasn't sure if he even would be drawn with red eyes if it did. All in all, he looked like a normal guy.

However, Gavin’s did not. For the most part, the sketch in front of him looked just like what he would see in the mirror. All the same, except for the eyes and mouth. Instead, they were replaced with black holes, darkness that seemed to suck in any light until it was all gone. He was not looking at a picture of himself, he was looking at a monster.

Gavin hadn't even realised that he'd stopped walking until he felt the pull on his arm as Michael tried to continue on as he hadn't noticed Gavin had paused yet.

"Gavin?" Gavin heard Michael ask from behind him after he'd realised he'd stopped.

Gavin stepped back from board and the posters and turned back to Michael.

"It's nothing," he said as he started to walk away, pulling Michael along with him. He didn't want Michael to see the monster they thought of him, otherwise he might think it too.

What he saw should have made him upset, but it wasn't the first time he had seen or even heard himself and creepers depicted in such a way. Instead of allowing himself to wallow in misery, he channelled the emotions that he felt when there were people who viewed him in that way.

If a monster was what they thought he was, then a monster was what they were going to get.

It wasn't long until they managed to reach the other side of the square, and when they did Jeremy lead them down a couple more streets before they reached a tall wall. There was an archway at the base of the wall that various people were walking in and out of. Gavin could see that the wall in front of them curled around, like the whole structure wrapped around in a circle with the jousting arena in the centre. The music was much quieter over on this side of the city, but there was the loud chatter, and the occasional cheer, from the people who were inside the arena.

"We're here." Jeremy nodded up at the jousting arena and turned around to face them all. "It's time."


	17. In Your Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I guess that's our cue." Geoff looked over at Jack. "Let's end this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These next two chapters were supposed to be one long chapter, but surprise surprise it got ridiculously long and you'll see why soon XD
> 
> also happy valentines day, aka team nice dynamite meets day!

Geoff and Jack got to the jousting arena with little problem. Instincts told them that they should cover their eyes as they made their way through the city, but they knew that it would make them seem suspicious. The flowers had done their job, though, and no one paid them any mind as they headed towards the arena.

Jeremy had tried to give them his best instructions on how to get there, but seeing as the city was so big and neither of them had been there before, it was a little hard to find their way. Although, it seemed that there were a lot of people who were heading the same way that they were. The two of them decided to follow the crowd, and eventually they were led right to the arena.

The arena was only just beginning to fill up when they arrived, and they got a couple of seats quite close to the front. Not long later, the king arrived. Geoff and Jack were expecting there to be some big announcement or for the crowd to cheer when the man showed up, but there was nothing. It was as if he was just any normal person turning up for the show. Perhaps everyone was just used to seeing him at this event and it wasn't anything special to them. However, the fact that this was the only time they saw the man all year, the two of them thought that they would make a bigger deal out of it.

Nonetheless, the two of them were now sat watching the jousting and the king across the way from them as they waited for the others to arrive. This was when Jack realised that this was the first time he had ever seen the king in person, which shouldn't have shocked him as he had never come to Ozryon before. He had only ever seen the occasional picture of the man, and that was when he was a child. He looked so different in person. He looked, for lack of a better word, _crazed_.

Even from across the arena, Jack could see that the king looked like the type of person who spent all their time inside bent over a desk. His skin was pale like it hadn't seen the sun in a while, and it made the dark bags under his eyes stand out. A crown sat atop his head, but his hair still stuck out at all angles as if he had run his hands through it several times. He also kept fidgeting in his seat, like he wanted to be anywhere else but there. Once the jousting had started, he seemed to settle down a bit as he got distracted by it.

Well, that was until Geoff started to mess with it.

"Geoff, you're going to get caught." Jack tried to be reprimanding, but he just ended up suppressing a laugh as Geoff sent another horse on the wrong path.

"No one knows it’s me." Geoff was secretly using his magic to send the horses to the side right before their riders could reach each other. It was quite comical. The riders would head in a straight line down the list, lances at the ready, but then at the last second the horses would jolt to the side, sometimes sending their riders to the floor as well.

Geoff was doing it as a way to keep himself entertained whilst they waited, and to probably annoy the king as well. Jack glanced over to find that the man was frowning as he watched the show, and it would make Jack feel pleased if Geoff wasn't potentially drawing attention to them. There wasn't really any way for anyone to realise that it was Geoff, but it was still pretty obvious that something was up.

"Yeah, but they're going to notice something's up." Jack gave Geoff a pointed look and found that there was a small smirk on his face.

"Maybe the horses are just a bit scared today," Geoff shrugged. "Look, people are leaving anyway." He pointed over to the people who were getting up out of their seats and making their way out of the arena. "That's good."

It was. If this was where they were going to kill the king, then they didn't want any civilians to be around when it happened, in case they got hurt by the inevitable fight that was sure to break out between them and the guards. Also, they might just get in their way and prevent them from even reaching the king. Maybe Geoff's little game wasn't a terrible idea. Although, they would need to think of something a little more effective as even though some people were leaving, other people were still coming in.

Perhaps the others had a better idea of how to handle this.

* * *

They all stood there, staring at the arena in front of them, but none of them made a move to enter it. It was like they were all too scared to get any closer to it, whether that be because they were nervous for what was coming next, or something else. After Jeremy announced that they were at the arena, they stood there in silence for a short while until Ryan finally broke it.

"There are a lot of people here. It's going to be hard for us to reach the king with so many people and guards around. We need to find a way to either get everybody out, or do this without alerting all the guards," he said in a low voice, keeping an eye out for anyone who could be listening in.

"I don't think there is a way for us to do this without alerting anyone." Michael was still looking up at the tall wall in front of them, his eyebrows furrowed. "I mean, it's not like we didn't prepare to take down a possible wall of guards in front of us.

"That is true. Although, if we start a fight then there is the chance that the king will get away before we reach him."

"Why don't we go find Geoff and Jack?" Gavin suggested. "Maybe they have an idea?"

"You're right, we can't just stand out here forever. Come on." Ryan gestured for them to follow him as he finally began to walk into the arena. The three of them cast each other a nervous glance, and then they fell into a step behind Ryan.

They walked through the archway at the base of the wall and soon it opened up into the centre of the jousting arena. The arena seemed a lot bigger now that they were inside. Around the edge of the arena were rows and rows of seats that rose up all the way to the wall that sat at the edge of the arena. There were already several people who filled up the seats, but so far there was still a number of them empty.

They were currently standing near the bottom of a set of stairs that lead up to the seats. In front of them was a short wall that cut them off from the long, flat area that the horses ran down. However, the horses weren't running down the length of the arena. Instead, they were at the side of area, running in circles as their riders tried to grab a hold of their reins.

"What's going on?" Gavin asked as they stood and watched them try, and fail, to get a hold of the horses.

"I think I know." With a smirk, Ryan gestured over to the pair that sat a little bit away from them and a couple of rows up from the area. Geoff and Jack sat there, Geoff staring intently at the horses as he no doubt controlled their erratic behaviour, whilst Jack managed to look both chastising and like he was trying to keep in a laugh.

The four of them made their way up the few steps before they reached the row of seats that Geoff and Jack were on, and they shuffled passed the few people who were sat on the row until they got to the pair.

When they had started to make their way over, Jack saw them and waved at them with a smile. That got the attention of Geoff, who let the horses go so their riders could finally get a hold of them.

"Nice face paint," Jack said with a chuckle as they all sat down on the bench. "Have any problems getting here?"

"No, did you?"

"No, other than getting a little lost on the way." Jack glanced at Geoff with a smile, to which Geoff mumbled something about how they were _both_ given instructions and it was Jack's fault for not correcting him as he led the way.

"What are we going to do now then?" Ryan brought the conversation back to the situation at hand.

"Well, the king's over there." Jack pointed to where the king sat in the centre of all the seats, in a box that cut him off from the rest of the people in the arena. There was a railing that he could look over to see the jousting below, and one single chair that he sat on and was almost big enough to be a throne. "There are guards all around the arena, especially over where the king is. I don't know how we're going to get close to him, and I'm not sure if there's anything we can do from all the way over here."

They all sat in silence for a moment as they tried to think of a solution, all looking around the arena to find something that could help. Then, Jeremy sat up straight and twisted around to look up at the rows of seats behind them. Gavin turned around to see what he was looking at, but all he could see were the various people who were watching the jousting.

" _Moose_ ," Jeremy whispered harshly at the people behind them. " _Moose!_ "

Gavin squinted up at the rows, trying to see whatever it was that had caught Jeremy's attention. It was then that Gavin saw the guard that was standing several rows behind them. His eyes widened as Jeremy's yelling caught the guard's attention and she turned towards them. She stared down at them for several moments before her eyebrows rose and she started to descend the stairs.

Gavin's heart started to hammer in his chest as the guard got closer. Gavin thought that Jeremy had gotten them caught with his whispered yelling. However, when Gavin looked over at Jeremy, he was smiling wide as he watched the guard.

The guard stopped at the row of seats just above them and came to stand right behind them. She had thick, curly hair and dark skin, and there was a confused yet surprised look on her face.

"Jeremy?" She asked quietly and looked around nervously before she crouched down to be on their level. "I hardly recognised you with all that paint. What are you doing here? I thought you left."

"Yeah, I did. This is about that, actually." Jeremy turned back to look at them, seeming a little apprehensive. "Guys, this is Moose. She's a palace guard. She's a really close friend of mine, we patrolled a lot together." He hesitated slightly. "We can trust her."

"Jeremy, what's going on?" Moose looked at the rest of them, confused. Gavin probably looked just as lost.

Jeremy looked around the area that they were sitting in. There weren't that many people near them as most of them were sat on the other side of the arena or on the rows far away from them, which meant that no one would hear what Jeremy was going to say next.

"We need a way to get over there." Jeremy pointed his thumb over his shoulder and in the direction of the box that the king sat in.

Moose's face hardened slightly at that.

"Why?"

"It's..." Jeremy wavered, and turned to look at the rest of them as if he was searching for permission for what he was going to say next. None of them said anything, although Gavin suspected that it was because they were all shocked from the sudden stranger who Jeremy was apparently close friends with. Jeremy didn't even wait for a reply before he continued. "You know that _thing_ you always talked about wanting to do, but would never actually do?"

Moose seemed to think about that for a moment, but then her eyes widened. "That was a _joke_. I wasn't serious."

"Well, I am."

"Jeremy, do you think we should be talking about this?" Michael asked quietly. Gavin glanced over at him and found that he had a frown on his face and was watching Moose suspiciously.

"Yes." For all of Jeremy's nerves and apprehension he seemed to have whilst talking to Moose, he sounded surprisingly sure of his answer. "This is our only hope. Moose, is there a way we can get over there?"

Jeremy was looking at Moose hopefully, but she still didn't look convinced. At least she hadn't gone running to any of the other guards or pulled her sword on them.

"Jeremy, you just disappeared one morning, and at the same time a couple prisoners in the dungeon went missing too." Gavin suddenly got nervous and cast his gaze down before she could realise who he was. "People were saying that it was you. Is that why you left?"

Gavin felt himself grow guilty at Jeremy's stunned silence. It was his fault that Jeremy was here, going against his friend and doing something dangerous when he could have stayed safe. Gavin glanced slightly at Jeremy to see if he was going to admit to what he did. His mouth opened slightly, but before he could say anything, Moose spoke again.

"Actually, I don't care whether you did that or not. I don't _want_ to know. What I _do_ know is that you're a good person. You wouldn't do something like _this_." She gestured to arena around them.

"This is _good_. You know just as well as I do why this needs to happen."

Jeremy was looking at her sternly now, and Gavin could see her resolve fall. Now she was the one who seemed unsure.

"You are a good person," she repeated, and then she sighed deeply. "Who has good intentions. Whatever you've done, and whatever you will do, I know that you will only do it because you think that it is the _right_ thing to do."

She paused and then smiled, and Gavin realised that it was the first time she had smiled at Jeremy since she saw him.

"I will help you."

Jeremy visibly relaxed. "Thank-"

"But." Moose held up her finger and Jeremy shut his mouth. "I will only show you the way over there. I won't help you any further than that. Whatever happens next is down to you. If this goes wrong, I _did not_ help you, okay?"

Jeremy nodded enthusiastically and a grin broke out on his face. "Deal."

Moose was still smiling at him and Gavin realised that she probably missed her friend, even if he was doing something that she disagreed with.

"So, you know the way that you guys came into the arena? The archway?"

They all nodded.

"Well, in that archway there's a door that leads into a tunnel that runs beneath these seats. If you follow the tunnel it'll take you to the king's box. I'll come with you to get rid of the other guards." She stood up and the rest of them followed suit. "Are you all coming?"

"Uh, no. Just us two." Geoff raised his hand and gestured to himself and Jack.

"Not you?" Moose asked Jeremy, eyebrow raised.

"No. Some of us should stay here, it might be a bit more discreet."

"Alright," Moose shrugged. "Come on."

Moose began to make her way back down the stairs and Geoff and Jack followed. Geoff was the first to walk past Gavin, and when he reached him, Gavin grabbed hold of his wrist to stop him.

When Geoff halted, he looked down at Gavin in confusion. Gavin opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the words. So instead he pulled Geoff into a hug.

"Stay safe," he said into Geoff's shoulder, and he could feel Geoff wrap his arms around him.

"We will."

Gavin held onto him for a moment longer before he let him go. As Geoff walked by Jeremy, he clasped his shoulder and gave him a smile of approval before he and Jack headed off.

* * *

Moose led them both down the stairs and back to the entrance into the arena. They walked through the archway but stopped about halfway under it. There, tucked into the wall, was a wooden door.

Moose pulled off a small chain of keys that she had attached to her belt and searched through it until she produced the right one. She put the key into the lock, and when she turned it there was a click and the door opened. She gestured for Jack and Geoff to step through, and as she followed them into the tunnel, she locked the door behind them.

The tunnel was pretty dark. There were no torches, and the only light came from the very small windows that were high up on one side of the tunnel. Moose lead them through the tunnel, which ran around in an arc and followed the curvature of the arena.

It was probably only about a couple of minutes later when Moose stopped them. There was a set of stairs in front of them, and a light was coming from the top of them. The sounds of the jousting and people in the arena had also picked up again and was coming from the top of the stairs.

"I'm going to go get rid of the guards who will be at the king's side," Moose whispered. "You two stay here. Keep yourself in the shadows, and _don't move_ until I come back. Got it?"

They both nodded and hoped that Moose could see the gesture in the darkened area. Moose grabbed a hold of their shoulders and pushed them into an alcove that was tucked into the side of the tunnel. From there the light couldn't reached them and they were hidden from view.

Moose disappeared around the corner and Geoff and Jack listened to the voices that drifted down the stairs.

"It's time for change over," they heard Moose say.

"Really? It doesn't feel like we've been here that long." It was a voice they didn't recognise, so it must have been one of the guards.

"Yeah, time really flies by on days like today."

"Tell me about it." A laugh, and then a pause. "Wait, are you by yourself?"

Jack and Geoff cast each other a worried glance even though they couldn't see each other in the dark.

"No," Moose said casually. "Rookie must have gotten lost on the way over here." She sighed. "If you see someone looking lost, send them this way, would you?"

"Sure thing."

Then there was the sound of creaky floorboards as the guards came down the stairs. Geoff and Jack pressed themselves further into the alcove and held their breaths as the footsteps approached. A moment later, there were the shadowy figures of a couple of guards as they made their way back down the tunnel.

A few seconds later they were gone, and it was quiet again, but neither of them dared to move just yet. They waited until another set of footsteps began to make their way down the steps a moment later, and then Moose appeared back around the corner.

"He's alone. You're on your own now." Moose went to walk away, but then she turned back to them. "I don't know why you want to do this, or who you are even, but I trust Jeremy, and if he trusts you then I do too. I really do hope that you guys are successful. It's about time that someone like you came along."

And with that, she went back down the tunnel. She didn't even wait for them to say something before she was gone.

"I guess that's our cue." Geoff looked over at Jack. "Let's end this."

Jack gave him a stern nod and then they were heading up the stairs.

The stairs lead out right behind the chair that the king sat upon. Moose was right, there was no one else up here. Just the king, who seemed to not have noticed them yet. He was leant forward- his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands as he watched the jousting below intently.

Now that Geoff was not messing with the horses, the jousting was going by smoothly. Just as Geoff and Jack took a step closer to the king, he sat up straight with a loud cheer that was replicated across the arena as someone was knocked off their horse.

The king sat back against his chair and rested his hands against the arms of the chair, and Geoff looked to Jack. Jack reached under his thick cloak and pulled out a small pouch of soil. He held the pouch open and a root grew up out of the soil.

With one hand, Jack guided the root out of the pouch and over towards the king. The root's tip split into two and both ends slinked around the sides of the king's chair. When the roots connected with the chair, they started to slither across the wood and over to where the king's arms were resting.

Geoff realised in that moment that they could kill the king right then. Wind the roots around his throat and squeeze so tight before he realised what was happening. But Geoff knew that they couldn't make it that easy. He wouldn't walk away before this man knew who he had fallen to. _What_ he had fallen to.

The roots had reached the king's wrists and he still hadn't noticed them, too interested in what was happening in front of him to realise that his demise was just behind him. The roots quickly wound themselves around the king's wrists, and that was when he finally saw them. He began to struggle but the roots were now wrapped around his forearms and were steadily getting higher, and they were too tight to break.

"What is this?" He growled, but didn't look behind himself.

Jack stopped the roots once they were wrapped around the king's biceps. Once they had halted, Geoff stepped around the king's chair. He stopped right in front of him, and the king's eyes widened once he saw him.

"What is the meaning of this? Let me go at once!" He sounded angry, which was not what Geoff had been expecting from a man who was about to die. He didn't seem scared; he didn't even yell for help.

"I don't think so," Geoff replied calmly. At least he hoped he sounded calm, as inside he was an anxious mess.

Jack came to stand next to him, and the king looked between the two of them. His anger morphed into confusion as he looked down at the roots and then back up at them.

"Your eyes..."

Geoff frowned and looked over at Jack. What was with their- _oh_.

Their eyes were still under the effects of the tiliaceus flowers. They looked completely normal, and Jack's hadn't even changed when he was using his magic. To the king, they just looked like ordinary people.

"They're the least of your problems." Geoff turned back to face the king and drew the sword that was hidden beneath his cloak.

This was the closest he had ever gotten to the king. There were probably only a small amount of people who had come this close, and even though Geoff hated the man there was still a part of him who grew nervous at the fact that he was standing in front of the most powerful man in this land. Or rather who _was_ the most powerful man.

That nervousness just seemed to bubble inside him when the king saw his sword and _smirked_.

"Are they?"

Geoff's heart was racing, and then his breathing just seemed to stop as the king started to pull his arms up from the chair. There was practically no resistance from the roots and they just pulled and snapped as the king lifted his arms up. His arms were free in seconds and he pushed himself up from the chair. The broken roots fell to the floor.

The king was taller and much more muscular than Geoff would have thought, and he towered over both Geoff and Jack. Once he was standing straight, he lifted his head and looked directly down at Geoff. When their eyes locked Geoff involuntarily stepped back and away from the glowing, black holes he was staring at.

The king's eyes had changed colour.

Just like how Ryan's changed when he used his magic. Except these eyes were not red. These were black, and the only other colour in them was the white of the sclera. Geoff didn't know if that was any better than them being devoid of any colour.

One thing was clear, though. The king had used magic.

"Wasn't expecting that, were you?" The king was still smirking, and then he swung his arm out towards the two of them.

Geoff thought that he was going to hit them, so he swung his sword out in return. However, his hand never reached them. Instead, they were hit by an invisible force that sent them backwards.

Geoff felt his back hit the railing, but the force was too strong, and he felt the wood snap behind him. And then he was falling through it and down to the arena below.

* * *

"Are you sure that we can trust your friend?"

"Yes, Ryan! She's been there for me ever since I became a guard. She wouldn't betray me, and she never goes back on her word." Jeremy paused, and then his voice got quieter. "I'm sorry that I didn't ask you guys before telling her. I just didn't want to miss that opportunity, and I knew that she would help. Her mom was an enchanter, too."

Gavin looked up from where he was staring intently at the king to glance over at Jeremy. He was standing with his arms crossed and his eyes were cast down at the ground.

"It was a good idea, Jeremy," Gavin tried to be reassuring. Jeremy could have just saved their plan, and Gavin didn't want him to feel guilty about it. "I think it'll work."

Jeremy's head snapped up, and when his eyes locked with Gavin's, Gavin gave him a smile.

"What kind of magic did her mum do?" Gavin asked to try and lift Jeremy's spirits again.

Jeremy smiled as he thought about it.

"Charms."

Gavin's face fell as that one word brought back the memory of being in that dungeon. Trapped by the chains that glowed purple that were the result of someone stuck before him.

_"We once had the pleasure of capturing an enchanter...you can just imagine my delight when I found out that their magic involved charming of all things...of course we decided to make use of it before we..."_

"Hey, look."

Michael's voice brought Gavin back to what was happening, and he spun back around to look over at the king again. Now, he could see that Geoff and Jack were lurking behind the man. Gavin watched them, his breath held. He couldn't see what they were doing from where they were sitting, but whatever it was, the king hadn't noticed it yet.

Several moments later, the king was making a fuss about something and that was when Geoff and Jack went to stand it front of him. They blocked his view of what happened next, but it seemed like they were talking. Gavin couldn't hear them over the distance, so he just had to settle on watching.

It seemed to be going smoothly. The king hadn't alerted any guards to what was happening, and it appeared that no one in the arena had noticed something was happening either. But then everything changed.

The king stood up and before anyone could realise what was happening, a strong force of wind hit them and shook the arena. It was enough to knock Jeremy, who was still standing up, off his feet and down to the bench.

But that was nothing compared to how Geoff and Jack were thrown out of the box and to the ground below.

Gavin leapt out of his seat.

"Geoff!"

"Jack!"

Everyone in the arena was frozen as Geoff and Jack hit the ground of the arena, and then everything erupted into noise as people screamed and hurried out of the arena.

"Well, there goes subtly," Jeremy mumbled from next to him.

Gavin knew he should hurry down there, but he couldn't get his feet to move. The wind had stopped but he was left planted in fear.

"What _was_ that?"

"Magic." Ryan's voice was quiet.

"What?" Gavin's head snapped to Ryan, but they didn't have time for further explanation as there was a loud thump from the centre of the arena.

The king had dropped down to where Geoff and Jack were and was walking closer to them, and that was what Gavin needed to move again.

He jumped down the rows of seats in front of them, not even bothering with the stairs. He could hear the others following closely behind him. He stopped when he reached the railing around the area that the horses ran down, but he only hesitated for a moment before he was pulling himself over the wall.

His landing on the other side was less than graceful, and he was pulled up off the floor by Michael who had an amused grin on his face.

"Hey!"

Gavin was rubbing dirt off his knees, but it seemed that Ryan and Jeremy had reached the king.

"Leave them alone."

Gavin hadn't heard Ryan sound so angry, and it made Gavin glad that he was on their side. He didn't think he could stand against that fury.

The king looked a little shocked, like he hadn't realised that they were there, and he stopped in his tracks. He looked down to the pair on the floor, and Gavin was relieved to see that they were both sitting up now, appearing unscathed but perhaps a little dazed.

"Ah," the king looked back over to them. "You're with them."

The king sounded calm. Too calm, and all Gavin felt was perplexed at this sudden occurrence. Things had not gone in the way that they had planned. They had gone in a way that they could never even fathom. The king had used... _magic_?

"Oh, you're like me."

Gavin was confused at who the man was talking to until his eyes settled on Ryan, and Gavin could see that his eyes were red. A sign that he was using his magic.

Gavin turned back to the king and that was when he finally got a good look at the man, and what he hadn't noticed before was that his eyes were white. Just like Ryan's, the king's eyes looked normal until he used _magic_.

"Shut him up, Ryan." Geoff was standing up on shaky legs now and was helping Jack up next to him.

"I'm trying." Ryan sounded strained. His teeth were clenched and his brow was furrowed, but no matter how hard he tried the king did not seem to be affected.

"You know nothing about your magic, do you?" The king tilted his head to the side, looking smug as he smirked. Then, as Gavin was watching him, the white glow of his eyes slowly faded into a light pink.

_He was using more than one type of magic._

At the same time, Ryan let out a gasp and hunched over. His hands were on his knees and he took in deep breaths. Jeremy hurried to his side and put a hand on his back.

"How?" Even though Ryan all of a sudden sounded drained, he had lifted his head again to face the king. There were beads of sweat on his forehead that was smudging his paint and his eyes had faded back to normal.

"How can your magic not work on me? Or how can I possess so many kinds of magic? I don't have to tell you." He paused as if he was done talking, but then Gavin caught the slight flicker of his eyes before he started to speak again. "Actually, maybe I shall. You know, it's surprising how much you can take from a few unsuspecting victims."

The king started to pace back and forth in front of them with his hands clasped behind his back.

"It's quite simple really. All I needed to do was capture those of the likes of you," a gesture to Jack, Geoff and Ryan. "And take their blood. Mix that with mine and voila! Now I have their magic too. Okay, so perhaps it's a _little_ more complicated than that, but you get the general gist." He gestured one hand in a circle motion as he came to a stop.

"Now, onto you." He pointed at Ryan. "And your magic-"

A clink. So small and quiet he barely even heard it. He likely would have missed it if that exact noise hadn't been ringing through his head for weeks now.

Gavin knew it all too well.

It was metal scraping against metal. It was steel armour that laid in the seats and watched the show below.

It was a _distraction_.

In one quick movement Gavin had pulled out his bow and fired an arrow into the seats. Right past where Jeremy informed them that metal met metal and through flesh that resulted in a startled, painful cry from the guard in the stalls.

The guard that had snuck around them whilst they were too distracted by the king and was about to fire an arrow at them if Gavin hadn't beaten him to it. The guard who was now clutching the arrow in his side where his armour did not protect him as blood began to seep through his fingers.

Gavin was still holding his bow as he quickly cast his gaze around the rest of the seats, but there was only the one guard with a bow.

The king had gone quiet and everyone else had turned to the guard who was bleeding out. They all seemed shocked, as if none of them would have seen the guard there if it wasn't for Gavin.

"A creeper?" Gavin felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up at the malice that filled the voice of the king.

That was when Gavin realised in the process of getting his bow out, he had thrown his cloak off. Underneath, he was wearing his usual green, creeper outfit, which was now on show for all to see.

"I thought we got rid of you lot."

"All but one."

They all turned towards the source of the new voice that had joined them. If Gavin hadn't been feeling afraid before, he was once he saw the man standing at the entrance into the arena.

Admus was standing there, holding a sword that was slung lazily over his shoulder and that smirk still on his face. Behind him, more guards were beginning to filter into the arena.

"Looks like you're cornered now. This has been fun, but let's call it a day now, shall we?" Said the king.

Next to Gavin, Michael threw his own cloak off to reveal the large sword strapped to his back. He pulled it out of its sheath and held it out in front of himself in a firm grip.

"Not a chance."

* * *

Ryan's brain felt fried. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Not even when he had tried to use his magic on Geoff's chickens did his magic meet such resistance. Back then it was like using his magic on a stone wall; it had felt like there was just nothing there. However, this time he _knew_ there was something. It _felt_ like there was something, but that something had pushed him away.

He had tried hard to take control of the king's mind, but it was like someone had grabbed hold of the handles of his own mind and pulled and pushed until he was back in his own head. He hadn't realised how much energy he had used until he broke the connection and let himself fall back into his body.

Now he felt exhausted, and the fight had barely even started. The fight between them and the guards and the king.

Ryan spared a glance across the arena to where the guards were filtering in. Michael and Gavin were the closest to them, whilst the rest of them were closer to the king. Ryan looked back and forth between them, thinking about where he was needed most.

He could help with the guards where his magic would be more useful, but there were too many of them for him to concentrate on. Even if he instead tried to focus his magic on one person, he wasn't sure his frazzled mind could take even just that right now.

However, physically he was fine. He still had his sword. He could still fight that way.

There was a flash of movement at his side and Ryan glanced over to see that Jeremy had left his side to help Gavin and Michael. That was what Ryan needed to kick into action. If Jeremy was keeping off the guards, then Ryan would help Geoff and Jack with the king.

Decision made, Ryan unsheathed his sword and hurried to their side.

"So, this is how you want to play it?" The king grinned. "Fine by me."

His eyes shifted to black and he reeled his fist back for a punch. His fist flew towards them but before it could reach them, a vine had wrapped itself around it.

The king grunted as the vines encased his hand. He went to rip them off, but then Jack was throwing more of them at the king. Soon the king's whole torso was wrapped in vines and they were quickly covering him up.

The grunt quickly turned into a growl and instead of trying to claw the vines of, the king simply blasted them off using the same magic he had used on Geoff and Jack before. The vines were shredded into pieces as they were flung off his body. Any that were left on him had been reduced to tiny blades of grass and he brushed them off.

Whilst the king was distracted by that, Ryan swept in to swipe his sword at the king. Thankfully, he got a hit in before the king noticed him.

However, perhaps Ryan's strained mind was having more of an effect on him than he thought. He lunged too far to the right and only nicked the king in the side. The king barely flinched as the sword cut through him. He looked down at Ryan's sword and when Ryan tried to stab at him with it again, the king just put his arm out. The blade of his sword twisted backwards until it was almost bent in half.

Ryan stared down at the contorted weapon still in his hand, his mouth slightly open.

"What..."

"Nothing can stop me." The king's wicked voice chimed through his confusion. "You want to know why I take the magic of those less than me? Because _I want to be powerful_! I take it from them and then I _kill them_. I want to be the only one with magic in all this land! What is a king with no power? _Nothing_." The king raised both his hands in the air as his eyes changed again. "You want to see power? _Well, here it is!_ "

The arena began to shake and rumble, and Ryan had to brace himself so he didn't fall over. His broken sword fell from his hand. After a couple of moments, the tremors only got worse and then they were accompanied by a rush of wind that began to swirl around them.

It took a few seconds before Ryan realised that it wasn't _wind_ that was blowing around them. It was _dust_. Small particles that moved so fast they created a breeze, and soon small rocks joined in. Then, chunks of stone were ripped out of the arena's structure and they came crashing through the air as well.

Ryan tried to keep himself steady, but the ground felt like it was moving out from under him and he couldn't help but stumble. He threw his arms up to try and block any rocks that might be coming towards him, but the quick spinning made his vision blurry and he couldn't see the chunk of stone that came flying towards him before it was too late.


	18. Covering and Counting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the biggest fight of their lives.

His sword slashed through the air and came down on another guard. The guard dodged it and lunged at Jeremy with his own weapon. Jeremy blocked it with a clash of metal, and in one fell swoop dislodged the sword from the guard's hand.

A second later the guard was on the floor with a stab wound in his neck.

Jeremy had a moment to be amused at the irony. All those years of training and time spent learning to fight for the king, only for it all to be used against him.

He knew the weaknesses. Had worn the armour long enough to know where there were gaps that were less protected, where a sword could easily slice right through. He had ditched that armour back at Geoff and Jack's house and had donned the new ones that they made, ensuring that the weak spots were much more few and far between. It was a small change that was so far paying off well.

It was hard to hear much that was going on over the sounds of the fight around him, so he had no idea what was happening with the others and the king. He hoped everything was going well, but that hope began to dwindle as he felt the ground move out from underneath him as a harsh breeze began to pick up.

He stumbled as the arena rocked and the floor shifted beneath him. It seemed that everyone else was also occupied by trying to stay upright, so Jeremy knew it was safe to look away to see whatever it was that was going on around them.

What he saw was definitely not what he had been expecting. Chunks of what once were parts of the arena were swirling around in a circle. Jeremy could feel small stones, practically the size of dust, hit his face as they whipped by. Jeremy had to put his hand up to stop anything from getting in his eyes.

"Woah!" Jeremy exclaimed as a large piece of stone came flying towards him and he only had just enough time to duck before it hit him.

Maybe it was the effects of using his magic, but it seemed that Ryan's reflexes were not as successful as Jeremy's, as the same piece of stone came around and hit Ryan square in the face.

"Ryan!" Jeremy yelled as Ryan was sent to the floor.

A clang of metal behind him notified Jeremy that a guard had pulled himself together and was now advancing on him. Jeremy turned just in time to see a guard swing his sword at him.

Before Jeremy could react, the men fell down with an arrow in his neck. He turned to find Gavin, who was standing not too far away with his bow still pointed in Jeremy's direction.

"Go," he said.

Jeremy didn't need telling twice. He nodded and hurried to Ryan's side.

"Ryan, are you alright?" He asked the man as he knelt down by his side. Ryan was still conscious, but he was clutching the side of his head.

Ryan moved to sit up, but Jeremy gently pushed him back down again.

"Don't sit up."

"I'm fine." Ryan brushed him off and sat up anyway, but he made no move to stand up just yet.

"You're not fine! You just had a rock the size of my head hit you in _your_ head. You should stay still."

"I should help." Ryan grimaced as he finally pulled his hand away from his head to find that he was bleeding.

"You're bleeding." Jeremy leant forward inspect the wound. Thankfully the cut was small and wasn't bleeding too much, but Jeremy knew that any kind of head wound could be bad. "Also, you're drained from using your magic too much at once. You need to rest, at least for a bit."

Ryan looked up at him and that's when Jeremy realised he was really close. He quickly leant back as he felt his cheeks warm up and he looked away, distracting himself with what was happening around them.

He had been so distracted by making sure Ryan was alright, he had forgotten about the flying stones. They were mainly soaring around the king, and by extension Geoff, Jack and Ryan as well. Where Jeremy had been before, he was just on the edge of it. Now he was in the thick of it, and it had only gotten worse.

More pieces that had been teared up from the arena were in the air now and Jeremy was worried about what the king was going to do with them next. The two of them were sitting ducks if they didn't move.

"Okay, so maybe you should stand up," he said as he faced Ryan again. "We need to move."

Ryan seemed to have also realised the problem, although it was probably hard to ignore it when it hits you around the face, as he nodded and moved to stand up.

Jeremy helped him and together they found a place away from the fight, ducking down to avoid anything that might hit them. The arena was long, and the fight was mainly taking place in the centre, which meant that the edges were out of the line of fire. Jeremy helped Ryan sit down and once he was on the ground again, Ryan winced.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe resting for a bit is a good idea." He lifted his hand to his head again and closed his eyes. "Just seems a bit inconvenient, injuring yourself before you've actually done anything."

Jeremy chuckled slightly. "Yeah, but I think they've got it handled." He cast a glance over to the others, who were still fighting strong. "Just concentrate on not throwing up for now. I've got your back."

"I can't guarantee anything," Ryan mumbled, but he was smiling.

* * *

Geoff held his hands above his head. They were in what was practically a tornado of rocks. It spun around them, picking up dust from the floor and creating a harsh wind as the rocks were sent flying by. Geoff couldn't see much past the current storm they were in, and he barely noticed Jeremy take Ryan away.

Suddenly, the rocks stopped spinning. They just sat suspended in the air for a second, and then they were going up. It only took Geoff a moment to realise what was happening, and he just had enough time to close his eyes and brace himself as the king slammed his hands downwards and the rocks flew down straight towards them.

However, the blow that Geoff had been expecting never came.

He slowly peeled his eyes open to find that it had suddenly gotten dark around him. He then realised that around him and Jack was a shield of flowers.

They were huge. The petals were probably twice the size of his head and they looked almost as thick as his hand. Geoff had never seen Jack make something so big, especially in such a short amount of time, and he wondered what else Jack had been practicing without him knowing.

"Thanks, Jack." Geoff straightened and turned to the man next to him with a sigh of relief.

Jack still had his hands out in front of him and he was breathing heavily. He had a shocked look on his face, as if he hadn't been expecting himself to pull off such a thing. A few moments later, his arms dropped back to his sides and he stood up straighter.

In their little dome of flowers, they could've had a moment to just breathe and consider what they should do next without the king getting to them. However, the flowers started to crumble, and light began to peak back in.

"Uh, Jack..."

"This isn't me." Jack looked up at the flowers worriedly. They should have stayed intact until he used his magic to make them smaller or disintegrate them himself, but the flowers just seemed to decay on their own.

The edges of the petals crumbled away until there was nothing left. The stems collapsed in on themselves, and when they broke away, they revealed what the problem was.

The king was standing in front of them, his fist clenched as he held it out in front of himself, his eyes _green_.

Of fucking _course_ he had that magic, too.

Fine. If that's how he wanted to play it, then that's how it would be.

"Jack, I need you to cover me," he said quietly so only Jack would hear.

Jack didn't say anything, he didn't need to. He just nodded and stepped forward without question.

He grabbed handfuls of soil out of the pouches that he had on his belt and started to throw them at the king. The king seemed confused for a split second before flowers and vines began to grow out of the air. They all shot towards the king and started to twist and wrap themselves around the king's body. The king tried to rip them off like he had done before, but they were coming in too quick for him to get them all off at once.

It wouldn't last forever, but it would hopefully work long enough for Geoff to do his thing.

One downfall of Geoff's magic was that in a situation like this, he was very limited on his options. Jack had it a lot easier. There were plants and vegetation almost everywhere they went, which meant there was always something for Jack to use his magic on.

Although, their current situation of standing in an arena made of stone, in a city made of stone, begged to differ. But at least Jack could bring a plant or some soil with him and work from that, Geoff couldn't really put an animal in his pocket and sneak it into the city.

Well, he could probably fit a mouse or something in there, but something so small wouldn't be quite so effective.

So, Geoff had to work with what he had, and what he had was _exactly_ what he needed.

His magic gave him the ability to sort of _locate_ the whereabouts of animals nearby. He could find them based on their emotions, their minds. He could tap into them and give them commands, tell them to come right to him.

He had been preparing for this, longer than he had even realised.

When he had created his little, or perhaps not so little anymore, flock of chickens all those years ago, he had specifically chosen chickens for various reasons. Mainly it was because they were small and fairly easy to take care of, and they were the ideal creatures that he could use his magic on.

Little did Geoff know back then how much that choice would affect him now.

Now, he couldn't really bring all his chickens to the city, but there was something he could access from there. Something that was the next best thing.

Geoff could already see that Jack was faltering, so he tried to act fast.

Geoff felt around the city with his mind. There was more to work with than he would have thought, but then again it was a busy place and was bound to have drawn attention. There were lots of places where animals could scavenge about or scrounge for titbits.

He reached into their minds and commanded them to come to his location. They followed his order with ease, trusting in him with whatever he asked of them.

They would be quick, but Geoff still had to wait.

His attention was drawn back to the two in front of him, just in time to see Jack go down.

Geoff yelled out to him in shock and confusion as he didn't understand what Jack was hit by. There was something glowing purple on him and he was pulling at it to get it off, but it was to no avail.

Geoff turned back to the king with a glare.

The king looked arrogant now that only one of them was still standing, a crooked smile spread across his face. Like he knew he was going to win. However, Geoff had an advantage over the king that he was unaware of, and that was Geoff's magic.

The king hadn't seen him do much as Jack had taken the brunt of the fight so far, and with the change of Geoff's eye colour, he had no idea what Geoff could do.

And that was exactly how Geoff wanted it.

The king didn't say anything as he stood across from Geoff. It was like he was waiting for Geoff to make the first the move, almost like a predator waiting to attack their prey. Patiently seeing if he would run or put up a fight before he took him down too. Little did he know.

Geoff stayed quiet as well and instead concentrated on his magic, his task unbeknownst to the king.

He smiled when he felt they were close by, and as if on cue, a second later he could hear the sounds of creatures hurrying to be by his side.

The king's smile faltered as he heard the sounds too, and the nerves that appeared on his face showed Geoff that this was one thing the king couldn't control himself.

Geoff pointed his hand towards the king and brought down hell upon him.

* * *

Gavin and Michael were fighting hard to keep the guards back, but there were so many of them and they just kept on coming. Gavin was beginning to feel tired out and his arm was aching from the many arrows he had being firing off. The lack of Jeremy there to help made a great difference and once he had left to help Ryan, it was like the amount of guards doubled.

Michael was slashing his sword through as many guards as he could, whilst Gavin was standing back with his bow and arrow. He had Michael's back and would shoot at any guards who got too close to Michael whilst he was busy fighting off other guards.

Thankfully, there weren't a lot of other archers that Gavin had to take care of, but that did mean he was up against a lot of swordfighters. He had to make sure he took them down before they got close enough to get him with their sword, because if that happened, he would be screwed.

Gavin grabbed another arrow from the quiver on his back and fired it at a guard that got too close to Michael's back, and in quick succession sent another couple of arrows at two other guards who were making their way over to him.

Although the amount of guards was difficult to handle, what was most concerning was that since the fight started, Admus was nowhere to be seen. Gavin didn't know whether that was a good thing or not.

On the one hand, it was one less guard to deal with. Not only that, Gavin didn't know how he would react if he was face-to-face with him again. Seeing him across the other side of the arena was enough to instil enough fear into him that he felt frozen to the spot. His face had sent Gavin back to that dungeon cell, scared for his life as well as Ryan's. Michael running towards the guards as well as Jeremy suddenly appearing at his side snapped him out of it, and the next thing he knew, Admus was gone.

On the other hand, Admus didn't seem like the type of man who would just _run_ from a fight. His absence must have meant something, like he was planning something much worse.

Gavin tried to not let that distract him for the moment and instead concentrated on keeping Michael safe.

He reached back for his next arrow, but all his hand met was air. He felt around a bit more, but all he could find was his empty quiver.

He had run out of arrows.

His heart began to hammer in his chest. He thought he'd made enough arrows that this wouldn't happen. Then again, there was only so many he could carry and with the number of guards spilling into the arena, he was bound to run out of them eventually. He just didn't think it would be so soon.

He did have another weapon. It was a dagger, something that one of the others made for him back at the house in case he needed a close-range weapon. However, he brought it with him with the intention of using it on someone who didn't have a weapon of their own. That mindset perhaps wasn't the best to have for a situation like this, but he thought he'd be safe as long as he had his bow and arrows.

A dagger would be of no use against an army of guards with swords. He wouldn't ever get close enough.

That left him with one final option. An option that could be very effective, much more effective than just weapons, as long as he used it right.

His creeper power.

If Gavin was honest, there had not been all that many times that he had used his power. To outsiders, the creepers' ability to emit a form of explosion from their bodies was something that they did all the time, because it was all anyone would _see_.

They were defined by their destructive nature, even though it was just a small part of them.

In truth, creepers rarely used their power. It was more of something that was used as a last resort, mainly because it could be so damaging. Gavin could only recall using it twice in the past couple of weeks, and before then he couldn't remember the last time he had needed to use it.

His lack of experience with his own power meant that he was perhaps somewhat unattuned to the full workings of it. He knew how to use it, of course, but he hadn't ever used it for more than just a small blast. He knew it was possible to be dangerous with it, so he just had to find it in himself to produce that much power.

Michael had been holding the guards back on his own without Gavin to help for the moment, but a couple had slipped by and were now headed for Gavin.

Gavin threw his bow onto his back and lifted his hands. He gave the guards a short blast to push them back and they both fell down to the floor.

For him to create something much more powerful, he was going to need more time.

"Hey, Michael!" Gavin called out to the man not too far from him.

"Yeah?" Michael didn't slow down as he cut down a guard and moved onto the next one.

"I need you to cover me."

"What have I been doing so far?" Michael had time to turn to him with a smirk before the next guard went down. "Don't worry, you can count on me."

And Gavin could, which was why he felt safe enough to close his eyes in the middle of a battle, because he knew someone had his back.

"When I tell you to, get down," he said quietly. He didn't want the guards to know of his warning, so he hoped Michael had heard him, but he didn't open an eye to check. He didn't need to, because Michael would be there for anything he asked of him, no questions or doubt about it.

Once his eyes were closed, he shut everything out. All the sounds of the swords clashing, armour clanging, yells of pain that thankfully only came from the enemy, they were all tuned out so Gavin could concentrate.

His fists were clenched at his sides as he brought his power to the forefront of his mind. He felt the static energy course through him. It filled his bloodstream and fuelled his organs. He could feel it from the hair on his head, all the way to the tips of his toes. Soon he couldn't make out much more than the static in his body, and when it consumed him, he dug further. Right into the depths of where his power was held, right in his very core. Every part of him was buzzing and he could hear the humming in his mind. He was sure he was vibrating so much with pure energy that he was visibly shaking.

He delved not just through his body, but his mind as well. He channelled every emotion he was made to feel by those that feared him. He knew what _this_ would look like, how things like this made others feel when they saw it, but he didn't care. He embraced it.

In that moment, he became all that they feared. He wore the mask that they painted for him, embraced every bad thing they said about him. So that just for a moment, they could feel the fear that they made him endure his entire life.

He was the monster they all created themselves.

_'Eyes and mouth that were black holes, a sunken darkness that sucked in all the light.'_

That was exactly what he was going to show them.

When he felt he that he had brought forth as much of his power as he could, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

"Now!" He yelled over the sounds that flooded his ears once more. He had just enough time to see Michael dive to the floor before Gavin lifted his arms, his hands held out wide.

His power left his body as an explosion. It didn't leave slowly or in parts, it was all at _once_. A wall of energy that hit the unsuspecting guards like a compacted hurricane.

The hardest part about it was directing his power forward, as opposed to letting it spill out around him the more natural way. He didn't want it to hit anything behind him as that was where Geoff and Jack were, across the other side of the arena.

At least, he hoped they were. He'd been too scared to turn around to see what was happening over in that fight as he didn't want to believe that there was a chance it could all go wrong, where it didn't all go to plan.

So, instead he focused on the power that left his fingertips. It was like his energy was being drained out along with it, and as soon as he stopped using his power, every last bit of it was gone along with his strength.

He fell to his knees and hunched over, his sweaty palms on the dusty ground keeping him from collapsing forward.

For several moments, he just concentrated on breathing in and out. He had never created that much power before, and his body was not ready for it. He had just enough energy to lift his head up when he heard the approaching fast footsteps across the gravel.

"Michael," he breathed out when he saw the man in front of him. He tilted his head up until their eyes met, but what he saw took his breath away again.

A shadow loomed over Michael's shoulder. It caught Gavin's eye and drew his attention away from how Michael's eyes widened at the sight of Gavin, completely oblivious to the man that stood behind him.

Gavin tried to gasp out a warning to Michael, but he wasn't quick enough for the sword that suddenly appeared at Michael's throat.

* * *

Jack knew that he was beginning to falter, but he tried his hardest to keep going. Geoff needed him to keep going.

He reached into his pouch to grab another handful of soil and found that it was empty.

His eyes went wide as he discovered he'd used it all up. The king used his moment of hesitation to rip off the rest of the vines that covered him, and they withered and dissolved in his hand as he tossed them to the floor.

The king had gone from looking cocky, to annoyed, to now just straight up _angry_. Without a word he reached down to the speck of metal on the ground underneath the mess they had created, and as he lifted it up, Jack realised it was Ryan's bent sword.

The king held the sword in both his hands. Even from where he was, Jack could see the way the king's jaw was clenched as he bent the sword back into shape. He knew it was not from the strain of contorting the steel blade, for Jack knew that it took no effort for the king, but out of the rage the king had come to feel.

Jack had time to appreciate the fact that if this all went to hell, they at least managed to piss off the guy.

The king's arms were exposed after he decided to drop his own cloak and roll up his sleeves what felt like forever ago. Jack was pretty sure he could see the veins in the man's arms as he gripped the sword, and Jack could swear that he saw the veins glow a slight purple.

The king's hands were wrapped around the sharp edges, but Jack couldn't see any blood, even as the blade dug into his skin. Then, it was as if an invisible knife was carving inscriptions into the metal. Jack watched as purple magic split through the cracks and practically consumed the whole of the sword.

Almost as quickly as the king had grabbed the sword and twisted it with his magic, it was leaving his hands again. Jack didn't even have time to think about what the purple markings meant before he was being sent to the floor, a weight hitting his chest and something sharp digging into his arms.

Jack was sure he heard Geoff yell his name, but it was all muffled as the wind was knocked out if him.

He looked down to find that the sword was now twisted around his body. The blade of the sword was across his chest, and the tip and the hilt were bent around his arms to keep it in place. The runes still glowed spectacularly, even as they faded slightly.

Only his upper arms were trapped, so he could still lift his hands up to claw at the sword. However, it was really tight, and the sharp edges hurt his fingers when he touched them, even though the king seemed unfazed by it.

Jack started to look around for what could help him. He had his own sword still in its sheath on his belt, but he didn't know how he could pry the other sword off himself by just bringing another sword into the mix. It was also likely he would just hurt himself with so many blades present.

He looked over to where Geoff was. Jack hoped that what he had done had given Geoff enough time to sort out whatever it was he needed to do.

Geoff was standing a short distance away, glaring at the king. He didn't say a thing and Jack knew that it was because he was concentrating. It was the only time he could get that man to be quiet.

Despite his situation, Jack couldn't help but smile. That smile only widened when he heard the sounds of flapping wings and tweets and chirps that came from a distance, but only got louder as the seconds passed.

Jack knew what Geoff was doing, but it was clear the king didn't, if the worried look that appeared on his face was anything to go by. Soon, a shadow appeared above them as the sun was blocked out by the approaching flock. The king only had just enough time to look up at the sky at the same time that Geoff rose his arm towards him.

Barely a second later, birds were swooping down and they swarmed the king under Geoff's command. Jack could see the man flail about beneath them, trying to push or punch them off, but they just kept coming back.

_Good work, Geoff._

Whilst the king was occupied with this newfound obstacle, Jack went back to trying to pull the tightly wound sword off of himself.

Although the king had used his magic to wither away Jack's plants, there was still some soil scattered around that Jack could grow a fresh plant from. Maybe he could grow some vines and use them to pry the sword off.

However, when Jack tried to use his magic, it suddenly felt as if his chest was being burnt. He looked down in confusion and found that the runes inscribed in the metal were back to glowing a bright purple.

If he was in a better position to do so, he could've kicked himself when he realised. Gavin had told them about what happened when he had been taken to the dungeons. He didn't go into a lot of detail and they weren't going to push him for more, but he did talk about enchanted chains that stopped him from being able to use his power.

Jack should have realised it sooner. Why else would the king use his magic to enchant the sword rather than just use it to stab him?

So, that made using his magic out of the question. Guess he just had to do this the old-fashioned way.

Jack lifted his hands to his chest and slipped his fingers underneath the metal. He ignored the sharpness of the edges as his hands gripped around the blade and he _pushed_. He pushed the sword away from his body, but it would barely budge. It was too tightly wound, and he was sure that if he kept pushing it at that angle, he'd end up slicing his arms off.

He adjusted his grip and instead started pushing it up his body, towards his head and shoulders. He could feel the way it cut into his hands and clothes, but also the way that it started to move. He pushed it more and more and could feel it start to slip from him.

As he did so, he glanced over at Geoff once more. The man was still using the birds to attack the king, but the king was unfortunately doing a good job at batting them away before they could do any damage.

Geoff was standing a short distance away. He was currently holding a bird, some sort of starling if the multitude of colours was anything to go by.

His grey magic was slowly crawling over the bird’s feathers and as Jack watched, he could see that its feathers were fading into a dark orange. A few moments later and the feathers were fully changed, and the bird was leaving Geoff's arms.

The bird flew towards the king and in sync the rest of the birds parted. In one swift movement, the starling flew towards and over the king, leaving a fiery trail behind itself. The fire shot towards the king and the man only had just enough time to cover his face with his hands before the flames reached him.

The king yelled out and Jack thought they had finally got him, but then the smoke from the small fire cleared and as the king moved his hands from his face, Jack could see that only the edges of his sleeves were charred.

The bird came around again and as it flapped it's wings, more flames flew off its feathers and it even shot a couple of balls of fire out of its beak. However, the king was prepared for it this time and as his eyes shifted back to white, he swung an arm out that blew the fire away into nothing, like a strong gust of wind.

The bird kept trying, though, and at the same time that the bird shot another fireball at the king, Jack felt himself slip free from the constraints of the enchanted sword. Although Jack's hands ended up with cuts all across his palms and his clothes were shredded slightly, it was easier to get out of the bind than Jack suspected it to be.

He decided to not pay that thought any mind, instead pushing it to the back of his mind with the suspicion that the king had only wrapped the sword around Jack as a quick measure to stop him from using his magic, too busy fighting to realise the ineffectiveness of his actions. That was good. That meant he was beginning to wear thin and they just had to push that one step further.

Jack quickly sat up and went to push himself up when he saw from the edge of his vision Geoff reach for another bird, but his hand brushed against something on the ground and he hesitated. He looked down to find that there were a few, thick cracks running along the ground.

The floor of the arena was made of stone, topped off with a layer of sand and dust that made the ground slightly softer. Earlier on when the king had ripped up chunks of the arena, it had shredded up some of the floor as well. That created Jack a path to the ground below, where there was more soil than just the crumbles he had left behind.

Jack spared a glace back over to Geoff and found that the fire bird was doing little to take down the king, or even just injure him. It was a good distraction though- the king was too busy trying to fight the fire that he didn't even notice Geoff enchanting another bird or that Jack was free again.

Jack placed his hand over the crack and could practically feel the soil below, it was calling out to him like it always did. He used his magic and soon a small root had been created in the dirt. With all of his might, Jack grew the biggest root he could. One that was thick and tall and stretched so far, right from beneath his hand and towards the king in barely a second.

It was so perfectly timed. He and Geoff didn't even need to communicate. They never did, not really. They worked so flawlessly together, didn't need to tell the other what they were doing, they just _knew_.

Which was how Jack managed to wrap the roots around the king at the same time that Geoff held out his newly enchanted bird.

The king was _so close_ , too close, to Geoff after he had managed to bat away the bird which still had flames licking at its feathers. He was trying to get to Geoff, to get to the source of this problem and stop him from using his magic just like he had done to Jack.

But he was too slow, and Jack was just fast enough. Fast enough to wrap the strong root around the man's wrist as he reached towards Geoff and stop him from moving any closer.

The root didn't stop there. It continued to wrap itself around the king's arm, around his chest, around his _throat_. More roots grew from that one and bound themselves around in criss-cross patterns and soon the king was encased. It would have been easy for him to escape, as already proven more than once, but that was before Jack and Geoff fully worked together, before they combined their magic.

The bird Geoff was holding was blue, almost white. Like ice, and that was confirmed as a white mist flittered off the bird as it flew over to sit on one of Jack's roots, and instantaneously the roots turned white as well. They hardened as they turned to ice and in almost the blink of an eye, the king was consumed. Inside his own, icy bundle where only his head was free, and he couldn't move anything else.

Everything was quiet for just a moment. Jack couldn't even hear his own breathing and he was sure that he wasn't breathing at all. He couldn't, not for this second, because he needed that moment to let everything catch up before it all started again.

And it did, one more second later. Sounds came rushing back and flooded his ears and Jack was aware again of what he was looking at because _holy shit the king was down_.

But that wasn't quite true, was it? The king was trapped, but that was it. He couldn't move, but what was to say it stayed like that, because he was still _very much alive_ underneath all that ice. It was shown in the way his face shifted, just slightly, but enough for Jack to notice the split second of panic that crossed the king's face, before it was quickly replaced with a scowl once more.

He still had magic, too much magic inside of him that wasn't for him, but he had it anyway. It would be easy for him to find his way out after some time, so they had to act _fast_.

Jack took out his sword, the cold handle a reminder of how he hadn't even touched it since coming here, hadn't needed to because he was an _enchanter_. A weapon seemed so miniscule when you had the power to create, but for some reason it seemed just right to use it now. Jack saw Geoff do the same and they both held their swords out towards the king.

Jack smiled at Geoff and Geoff smiled back, and that was when Jack noticed that Geoff's eyes had turned back to normal. Back to the familiar blue and grey that Jack loved so much. His own eyes were probably back to normal as well, and Jack watched the man he cherished so much and gave him a simple, firm nod, which Geoff returned, before he turned away again.

This seemed like the type of moment where words should be exchanged. A final line of arrogance from either party, just before the winner was revealed. But Jack was tired, he didn't have time or energy for words, and it seemed like no one was in a disagreement. Only a final cry was expelled out of each of them before things shifted into a slow motion.

The king's eyes shifted to black, the ice around him cracked and crumbled, his fist continued to head towards them, and they headed forward, sword first and body second.

Barely a flash had passed before they reached each other, and sword and body connected.

* * *

When Gavin asked Michael to cover him, Michael had barely thought anything of it. He was too busy fighting the guards to question it. Michael hadn't had much of a chance to pay attention to what Gavin was doing, but he could hear the _swish_ of the arrows that flew through the air and he could see the guards that fell down before Michael could reach them.

Now, the arrows' swooshing had stopped, and Michael was sure that he was taking care of more guards than he had been before. He didn't wonder why, just trusted that the reason had to do with why he was now covering for Gavin.

A guard came at him from his side and Michael had to turn to face them before they got to him first. In his movement, he saw Gavin a short distance away from him. Gavin's eyes were closed, and his bow was no longer in his hand. It was now slung over his shoulder.

There were a couple of guards too close to him and Michael swiftly took care of the guard he was currently fighting before he hurried towards the other two.

They heard him coming and both quickly aimed their swords at him instead. It only felt like a few seconds had passed before Michael's sword met one of their necks, and the other's chest.

Michael continued to keep the seemingly endless number of guards back with swift and fluid motions. Michael hadn't realised how long it had been since he had held his sword in his hands. It was second nature to swing it through the air; it might as well have been an extra limb with how natural it felt to aim it towards the approaching guards and cut them down like it was nothing.

However, it wasn't long before he heard Gavin's signal. He didn't know why Gavin wanted him to get down, but when he heard Gavin yell, he didn't hesitate to throw himself onto the floor, one hand still holding onto his sword whilst the other protected his head.

Barely a moment later, what felt like a strong gust of wind past over Michael. Even from where he laid flat against the floor, he could feel himself shift slightly from the sheer force of it. He kept his eyes shut as dust was blown around and into his face, and then almost as quickly as it had started, it stopped.

Michael slowly peeled his eyes open. Next to him, all the guards that he had been previously fighting were now collapsed on a pile against the other side of the arena, not moving. The wall that ringed the area was also cracked and crumbling from the impact of the guards hitting it.

He turned to face the source of the destruction and found Gavin slumped on the ground, hunched over with his hands on the floor and his head bowed down.

Michael quickly got up and hurried over to Gavin whilst simultaneously throwing his sword back into its sheath and onto his back.

"Michael." Gavin looked up when he heard Michael nearby.

Michael went to reply, but when he made eye contact with Gavin, he couldn't help but let out a small, involuntary gasp.

He hadn't ever thought about it until now, but it was then that Michael realised that he had never actually seen Gavin use his creeper power. He could imagine what it was like, so he wasn't surprised at the strong blast that emitted out of the man. Although, he was a little shocked at the sheer force of it, but what he really hadn't been expecting was Gavin's _eyes_.

Pure black, not an ounce of white or colour left behind. Just like the tales Michael had heard. Creepers were always depicted as having deep, black pits as eyes, and until now Michael had just thought it was another exaggeration in the history books.

Michael didn't even mean to take a step back, but when he did, he felt himself walk right into somebody. A split second later there was a sword at his throat.

"Well, isn't this lovely?" A voice spoke into his ear. "Hate to break it up."

The voice sounded familiar, but Michael couldn't put a face to it. Either way, he didn't take a sword in his face too kindly, no matter who the person was.

He lifted his hands and pushed at the arm holding the sword. Once the weapon was far enough away from him, he stepped away from the person, twisting around as he did so to see who it was.

It was one of the guards from before. Some arrogant bastard who came in swinging his sword about and throwing a few words around, who somehow now just came out of nowhere.

He looked a little stunned for a moment, like he hadn't been expecting Michael to get away from him so easily, but it was barely a flicker before a composed demeanour was back.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Michael paused from where he was reaching to grab his sword off his back again and gave the man a raised eyebrow. The man didn't say anything, just flickered his gaze briefly over to his right.

Michael followed his gaze towards Gavin who was still kneeling on the ground. He still seemed a little breathless, but the black was fading from his eyes and the familiar green was almost back. However, behind him were two other guards, both with their swords pointed right at him and ready to strike in case he or Michael tried anything. Gavin wasn't looking at Michael, instead his terrified gaze was on the man in front of them.

"Oh, this is just excellent," the man grinned. "I was just waiting for a moment of weakness."

"Weakness?" Michael growled through clenched teeth. He was anything but _weak_ and he did not like being told otherwise.

"Yeah. Looks like you expended your load too early. Now you're just a sitting duck waiting for this all to end."

"Waiting?" Michael's brow furrowed. "I'm not waiting, I'm-"

"I wasn't talking to you," the man said even though he was staring right at Michael.

It took a moment too long for Michael to realise that the person he was talking to was _Gavin_. Gavin who was looking at this man in fear, like he knew him, like he _met_ him before. But there wasn't a time where Gavin could have met this guy, except-

Except for when he was stuck here, hurt here by people Gavin didn't describe. He didn't need to now that Michael could see, with the way this man held himself, with the way he spoke. Cold, domineering, cavalier. Even his two minions stood hanging on his every word, waiting on any command.

"I have _so much_ planned. Soon you'll regret ever trying to escape from me." The man eventually turned to face Gavin, who would have backed away if it weren't for the two swords so close to his back. "I'm going to make sure you suffer. After you watch all your friends die. Starting with this one here."

Without warning, he swung his sword in Michael's direction. Michael's reflexes kicked in and ducked beneath the weapon. The man was fast and was already swinging back before Michael had righted himself. He took a step back from the sword as it came at him, and then again and again. Michael didn't even have time to reach for his sword again, too busy dodging the weapon that was barely inches from his chest.

He raised his arm to block the next swing, the armour on the back of his forearm taking the hit. He pushed the sword back and with that opening, he raised a leg and kicked the man in the chest, sending him back several steps.

As the man stumbled, Michael finally pulled out his own sword. He didn't even give the man time to recover before he lunged at him. However, every swipe he made was blocked. The man didn't seem to falter under Michael's strength. Even his sword held up against Michael's diamond one.

Michael wouldn't let that stop him from trying to take a shot at this guy. Any moment he wasn't attacking the man, he was defending himself. He couldn't stop.

After some time, however, he let a hit get too close to himself and had just enough time to bring his sword up before he got skewered. The end of the blade just caught his hand and he almost lost his grip on his own sword. The other man took advantage of that and deliberately hit his sword on his next move, hard enough to knock the sword straight out of Michael's hand.

The sword clattered to the floor and Michael was back to ducking underneath the other man's sword to dodge his next move.

At his next swipe, Michael stepped back, but dug his heel into the ground. Before the man could swing at him again, Michael threw himself forward and tackled the man to the ground.

Michael could hear the man also drop his sword as Michael fell on him. The man was quick to try and push Michael off, but Michael used all his strength to keep him pinned underneath him. He held the man's wrists in place as he glared down at him.

The man didn't say anything for a moment, just looked up at Michael as he breathed heavily from their fight, but then he uttered, "Not bad. You put up a good fight."

"You didn't," Michael couldn't help but mutter between his own gasps.

The man let out a chuckle at that. "Is that what you think?"

Michael stared down at the man in confusion. "From the way I see it, which is from on top of you, you didn't put in much effort."

This was the first man in a long while that managed to disarm Michael, but he didn't need to know that.

"That's because I didn't need to."

Michael raised an eyebrow and the man raised his head, over in the direction of where Gavin still was. He was still kneeling in front of those two other guards, who now had both of their swords touching his neck. One of them had also grabbed onto the back of his shirt to keep him close to the blades.

"So, what? You just fight with back-up so you can never fail?" Michael spat at the man beneath him. "A real warrior doesn't work with a contingency plan."

"What is he to you, then?" The man growled. "If not a weapon to use to help you win."

Michael looked away from the man and back over to Gavin. Gavin was watching Michael and as Michael made eye contact with him, he could see a spark in those eyes. Eyes that were now green again with a slight glow, just like the first day Michael saw them.

Gavin didn't look as drained as he did before, now sitting up slightly straighter, even without the assistance of the man grabbing him. He gave Michael a small smile and subtly his hand brushed against his hip, where Michael knew he had a dagger.

Michael smiled back at him, understanding his message, before he was back to watching the man he was pinning down.

"You talk too much."

And then Michael punched the man, right in the jaw at the same time that Gavin pulled out his dagger and stabbed both of the other men in the legs before they even knew what was happening.

Michael went to punch him again, but in doing so he had released one of the man's hands from the floor. The man reached up and grabbed a fistful of Michael's cloak that was bunched around his neck and pulled him down with him.

In one fluid motion, Michael ended up beneath the other man as they rolled over. The man went to throw a punch at Michael, but Michael raised his arms to block it. He grabbed the _too neat_ hair of the man with one hand and used it to hold the man in place whilst he used his other hand to punch the man in the face.

He yanked the man to the side using the grip that was still held tightly onto the hair. The man fell off Michael, and Michael moved so he was straddling the man again.

He threw a few more punches at the man and a couple of them landed. Usually, it didn't take much from Michael to knock another person out, but this guy was not going down, no matter how hard Michael hit him.

Michael went to wrap his hands around his throat, but they weren't there long before the man managed to dislodge his grasp. He couldn't even pin the man down again, he wouldn't let him, made sure that his arms kept moving so Michael couldn't grab them.

He tried to block every move that the man would send his way, but before Michael knew what was happening, a fist snaked past his defences and went straight for his throat.

The force of the punch sent Michael back, gasping for a breath after all the air was knocked out of him. It was like his throat had suddenly closed up. The pain distracted him enough for the man beneath him to use the momentum of his upper body to push Michael off of him.

Michael fell on his back and tried to breathe for a moment. It took him until he had got in a few, full breaths and his head had cleared until he noticed something was off.

The man he had been fighting was gone. He hadn't leapt for Michael the second Michael was down. It seemed strange that the moment Michael was vulnerable, he hadn't taken that opportunity.

Michael coughed and sat up, looking around for where his opponent had gotten to.

What he saw made his breathing stop again.

The man was over where Gavin had been with those two other guards. The other guards were down. Laying on the floor in a bloody mess, and Michael had to wonder how Gavin had managed to take them both down on his own with just a dagger when they had swords.

That wasn't what was on the forefront of his mind, though. It was actually the man who now had Gavin in a headlock.

Gavin was grasping at the arm around his neck with bloody hands, and Michael didn't know whose blood it was.

"You people are insufferable," the man snarled. His once neat hair was matted with sweat and locks of it dangled over his eyes. "Don't ever know when to stop, do you?"

The man reached out from where he was half-knelt to a sword that laid discarded on the ground, most likely from one of the other guards. He brought the sword close to Gavin and held the edge of the blade to Gavin's hip, right where the armour Michael had given him ended and his body was left unprotected. Gavin tensed up and his eyes closed.

"If that is how you want it to be, then fine, but I will _not_ let any of you walk out of here alive after what you've done."

Then, he raised the sword and brought it down towards Gavin's body.

_"Wait!"_

The man's arm stopped halfway through the air.

The three of them turned their heads towards the source of the voice.

There, just a little distance away across the arena, was Jack and Geoff. They both stood in a mass of destruction. There were loose rocks and dead plants scattered across the ground. A few birds were sat on the wall nearby, and there was even a small one that sat on Geoff's shoulder.

But what caught Michael's eye the most, what caused him to suck in his breath, was the body between them.

It was the king. His body was slumped over on the ground, propped up by two swords that were in his chest, their tips sticking out his back. His crown that he once wore lay discarded in the dirt nearby.

They had succeeded.

"Stand down," Geoff commanded. His eyes were locked on the man that gripped onto Gavin.

The man was looking at Geoff and Jack in shock. His gaze kept darting between them and the king in the middle of them. Michael could see that his grip on Gavin had loosened slightly, but it still wasn't enough for Gavin to pry himself free.

"How do you-"

"I said _stand down_."

Geoff moved to take a step forward, but that just triggered the man to tighten his grip on Gavin, and now Gavin was looking like he was struggling to breathe. Geoff didn't move any further.

"No. There's no way you could have defeated him. He made sure that no one could take him down, that no one could...could-"

"Become king?" It was Jack who spoke that time. "So, you know what this means now?"

The man didn't say anything, but from the look on his face, it was clear that he knew it very well. That he was all too aware of what this meant now.

"We are your new kings. Listen to your new kings and _stand down_."

The man didn't react for a long moment. He didn't even move. Gavin clawed at him with shaky hands.

"Admus..." It sounded raspy and faint. Michael almost hadn't heard him, and even when he did, he didn't quite know what it meant.

_Admus_. Was that what this guy was called?

Whether it was or wasn't, it seemed that that one word from the man in his hold was enough to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. He looked down at the sword in his hand and then at each of them in turn, before his gaze settled on the two new rulers.

"You are not my king," he said it without a hint of emotion in his voice, and then his sword was headed towards Gavin again.

However, this time he had barely moved it before a new sword appeared out of nowhere.

The sword hit the side of his neck and as blood splattered through the air, the man fell to the ground. Gavin slipped out of his grasp and gasped as he crawled away from the body that didn't move.

As the man slumped to the ground, they all looked up to find Jeremy and a slightly swaying Ryan standing behind him.

Jeremy's sword was held out and crimson dripped off the end of it.

They all looked at Jeremy in shock, and Jeremy panted out a few quick breaths as he slowly lowered his sword.

"Never did like that guy."

Michael slumped back onto the dusty ground; his tired, aching limbs spread out as he took in deep breaths to slow his racing heart.

They had made it. It was finally over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus points if you can guess who the two guards were that Gavin took down
> 
> Also if you wanted a guide on all the colours/magic combinations, here you go! (there are more, but these are the only ones that have been revealed so far):  
> Green- plants/trees/earth  
> Grey- animals/creatures  
> Red- humans/people  
> Purple- charms/enchantments/voodoo  
> Brown- minerals/rocks/stone  
> White- wind  
> Black- strength  
> Pink- counters effects of red (plus more that aren't revealed yet!)  
> Silver- metal
> 
> Only one more chapter and an epilogue to go!


	19. The End of All Things

Everything was quiet for a short while. It was like no one wanted to be the first to move, to say something.

Or maybe they _couldn't_ say anything, even if they wanted to. There was so much to take in. So much that had happened, even though it had only been a short time.

They had reached the city in the morning, not long after the sun had risen, but now Gavin could feel on his face the sharp light of an Autumn sun that had found its way through the clouds and towards their little spot in the arena. It was high in the sky, like it was approaching noon, but if asked Gavin would have sworn this battle had taken them all day. That was sure what it felt like.

Gavin looked up from where he had been slumped over on the ground, his hands near his throat as if that would help him breathe better after what had felt like the air being slowly squeezed out of him.

His hands dropped to his knees as he sat back on his heels and he glanced around at each off them.

Michael was laying on the ground, but now he slowly sat up, like he knew Gavin was watching him. Gavin looked away before Michael could make eye contact with him, for he was sure that if that were to happen, Gavin would want to run over to him and hold him tight and not let him go. But his body ached too much for that. He needed a few more moments before he felt up to moving.

Geoff and Jack had been standing a little distance away, but now that Gavin gazed at them, he noticed that they had walked a little closer to the rest of them. They stood with their arms pressed against each other, hands close as they both watched the other.

They looked tired, but also like a weight had been lifted off each of their shoulders. A weight that Gavin hadn't even realised had been there the whole time he had known them.

They were both smiling, and that made Gavin smile too.

Jeremy and Ryan were also standing together. They were just out of Gavin's eyesight, and he had to twist around to see them, to make sure they were alright.

And they did look alright, for the most part. Ryan's head still looked a little bloody, even if it was all dry now, and he was squinting against the harsh light, but Jeremy was there. He had a hand on Ryan's shoulder, making sure that he really was okay.

Jeremy's bloody sword was back in its sheath, which Gavin was thankful for. He was purposely trying to ignore the body on the floor near him. Or _bodies_ , if he counted the other two right by him as well.

It wasn't even the fact that they were _dead_ , there were so many others around them that had met the same fate and Gavin could only be thankful that none of them were on their side, but it was more of that fact of _who they were_.

He knew them, they hurt him, they deserved it, but he couldn't bring himself to look at it. That connection to him, and now they had met their bloody end, it was all too much for the moment. Gavin decided that now was when he could allow himself to move.

He got up and made his way over to where Michael sat. He wasn't far, but as soon as Gavin reached him, he plonked himself down next to him.

Michael didn't hesitate to throw an arm around him, and Gavin rested his head on his shoulder and Michael rubbed soothing circles into his arm.

Gavin had been the first one to make a move, and it was like that had broken the sludgy seal that encased the arena and trapped them all inside. Everyone else started to move again. There were sounds as people shuffled and picked up dropped weapons and mumbled to themselves or others.

No one really spoke to the whole group, until-

"Is everyone alright?" Jack ever the one to make sure they were all safe and intact.

"As alright as I can be, I guess." Ryan's hand was at his head and Gavin wasn't sure if he meant the head wound or whatever the king had done to mess with his magic and fry his brain.

"So, are we going to talk about, you know, the king being some almighty being?" It seemed Michael was thinking the same thing, as he lifted his arm that was around Gavin and gestured to Ryan, and then to the destruction that still laid around the body of the dead king.

"Yeah, what was with that?"

"I have...no idea how he could do that. I've never known it to be possible to possess more than one type of magic, let alone however many he had," Geoff said as he scratched his beard. "He said he took the blood of other enchanters and mixed it with his own. How can that even be possible?"

Gavin absentmindedly looked down to the cut that had been made in his hand what felt like forever ago. It had healed considerably, but there was still a fine, red line across his palm that hadn't completely gone away yet.

There was blood all over his fingertips from someone at some point, and it reminded Gavin of when his own blood had seeped out over his hand and was squeezed into that little vial. It had been taken away for some sort of _'experiments'_ that Gavin could now only assume was to do with the king. He hoped that whatever they had done hadn't worked. He didn't want to be a piece of some madman's plan.

"I suppose it makes some sense," Ryan broke Gavin out of his thoughts. He looked up to find that Ryan was standing a little straighter and looked less pale. "Our magic runs through our blood, so if you were to take a bit of it, you'd probably be taking a tiny fraction of our magic as well. The science behind mixing it with your own is a bit confusing though. It's a wonder that he managed to work all that out. No one has ever done that in the past, at least not without anyone else knowing."

Ryan turned to Jeremy with a smirk. "Jeremy, I thought you said you know an enchanter when you see one?"

"I never met the guy!" Jeremy threw his arms up in the air in exasperation, but he was smiling back at Ryan. "He only allowed a few people to get close to him. Now I know why."

"So, what happens now?" Michael asked the question they were likely all thinking.

"First thing, we're unofficially making you all our heirs. We don't want another situation like this happening to us." Geoff nudged the arm of a body close by with the toe of his boot.

"Can you even do that?" Not just having four heirs, but also giving them the title right there and then.

"'Course! We're kings now, we make the rules."

"I don't think that's how it works, but sure." Ryan crossed his arms with a raised eyebrow.

"Secondly, we go out there." Geoff was staring at the exit out of the arena.

They all slowly turned to look at it as well. It seemed too quiet out there, past the walls of the arena. There was a festival going on; it shouldn't seem so eerie.

"They're going to find out what happened. They'll know it all, about the law. There's two ways that this can go."

"And they might not be too happy that we just killed their king," Jack added quietly.

"Well," Geoff broke the brief moment of silence that fell over them. "There's only one way to find out."

He turned and made his way back over to where the king laid. He reached down and picked up the slightly bloodied crown off the floor and came back over. He reached out and took Jack's hand in his and moved past them all towards the exit.

Gavin watched them for a moment, then turned to Michael. Michael had his hand out, the corners of his mouth drawn up as he looked at Gavin.

Gavin took his hand with a grin and they both stood up to follow after Geoff and Jack. Jeremy and Ryan soon trailed after, and together they all made their way out of the arena.

What was waiting for them on the other side of the arena's exit was not what any of them had been expecting.

It seemed that word had gotten out about what was going on in the jousting arena and people were intrigued, as waiting just outside of the arena was a large crowd of people.

There wasn't much of a reaction as the six of them came into view, bar the wide eyes and gasps from a few of them.

Gavin's heart was hammering in his chest as he waited for somebody to say something. It was like at any moment this crowd would get angry and go for them, as a revenge for daring to come after their king.

However, Geoff was the first one to break the silence. He took a step forward, his hand still clasped in Jack's as Jack did the same.

Geoff took a deep breath and swallowed, and then raised the crown in the air. "Your king is dead." Along with the crown, Geoff raised his and Jack's clasped hands in the air. "We are your new kings now."

For the longest moment, there was silence, but then, one by one, each person in the crowd in front of them _smiled_.

It seemed so bizarre. Each of them were bloodied, some with paint smeared on their faces whilst others had mismatched eyes that were seen as unlawful. It made no sense that these people would be _pleased_ that they had come and stolen the throne, and yet there they were, grinning at the six of them.

One man stepped forward. The clothes he wore were neat, but they didn't look fancy, not like most people in this city looked. Gavin guessed that he most likely lived outside of Ozryon and had come into the city for the festival. His hair was grey and there were wrinkles on his face.

"Is it true?" As they nodded, his smile grew. "We have been waiting so long for him to be gone. He was nothing but cruel and heartless, it was about time he got what was coming for him."

The crowd behind him all cheered in agreement.

A younger woman came up next to him and put a hand on the man's shoulder.

"The king is dead," she said, and then she knelt down on the ground and bowed her head. "Long live the kings."

A second later, each of the people behind her followed her in suit. They knelt down with their heads bowed and chanted.

_"Long live the kings!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only the epilogue to go! Which I'm gonna upload soon!


	20. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What's next? I mean, for us?"

Michael and Gavin were sat on a couple of the seats in the arena. A lot of the seats were cracked and broken, but they managed to find a couple intact.

Michael looked down at the arena below. Most of the mess had been cleaned up by some helpful volunteers. The bodies had been taken to who knew where to be buried or disposed of, Michael hadn't thought to listen.

There were still a few discarded weapons. Gavin had salvaged what arrows he could, claiming that he was proud of the ones he made and they could still be reused, but had left the broken ones and any that were too deep in a body that it weren't worth taking out.

The arena was looking a little worse for wear. There were pieces of floor missing and some of the wall threatened to collapse at any moment. Michael's gaze travelled over to the broken mess where not long before, a pile of bodies had been in a tangled heap.

"Hey, Gavin?"

Gavin hummed quietly in response.

"You never told me about your eyes."

Gavin looked up from where he had also been staring down at the arena, to raise an eyebrow at Michael. He seemed confused for a moment, but then realisation dawned.

"Oh, you mean the colour changing thing?" He seemed a little shy, his gaze drifting downwards.

"It's pretty badass."

"Really?" Gavin looked back at Michael in shock.

"Yeah.” Michael nodded. “A little spooky, but cool."

Gavin smiled shyly at him and then turned away again. Michael joined him in looking out across the arena again, a comfortable silence falling over them.

"I'm glad this all worked out," Gavin said after a few minutes.

"Me too."

Then, Michael felt Gavin put his hand on top of where his was sat on the bench.

"What's next? I mean, for us?" Michael asked next.

Gavin was quiet, and Michael looked over to find him looking thoughtful, before he gave Michael a smile.

"Anything."

The next thing Michael knew, Gavin was kissing him. He kissed back, his hands coming up to rest on Gavin's neck to pull him closer. They had both rubbed off most of their face paint, but there were still colourful smudges on their cheeks and Michael could taste the leftover paint on Gavin's lips.

Michael felt like that moment could last forever, until it was broken.

"I hope we're not interrupting anything?" Jeremy called, and Michael turned to find him and Ryan making their way up the steps of the arena to their seats. They had also gotten rid of their face paint and Ryan had a fresh bandage around his head. They were both smirking at them. Jeremy nudged Ryan and Michael could hear him mumble, “told you they were together.”

"No, you’re not interrupting anything. Please, have a seat," Michael said sarcastically, but grinned when he heard Gavin giggle next to him.

"Gladly."

They both fell into the seats in front on Michael and Gavin, on the row that was just below theirs.

"I needed to get out of there. Too much king talk for day one," Jeremy groaned, and closed his eyes as he slumped back in his seat.

"What's the palace like?" Gavin asked as he leant forward in his seat.

"Big." Ryan laughed at the look Gavin sent him. "Pretty empty, actually. Seems like most people who worked there sided with the last king and fled. Although, with those that have stayed, we should probably still be wary of, at least until we know they're on our side."

"Ryaaan, do you always have to be so serious?" Gavin sat back and leant up against Michael.

"Yes. It's my charm."

"Oh, yeah, we found this." Jeremy sat up and pulled out a leather-bound notebook. There were loose pages that threatened to spill out if it wasn't for the thin piece of string that kept it closed. "It was in the king's study room. Talks all about the king's experiments with magic. Everything he said is right here. He tried to take all the different types of magic he could and then he would kill the enchanters he took it from, so that he was the most powerful person in the world. Although, turns out this guy didn't even start out an enchanter. He was just an ordinary, power-hungry guy."

"That's why he barely ever left the palace," Ryan added as he took the notebook from Jeremy. "Apparently, he just spent all his time practicing his magic and experimenting on others."

"Sounds like a fun guy," Michael muttered.

“Does it say anything in there about creepers?” Gavin asked quietly. He almost wished they hadn’t heard him as he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer himself.

Ryan looked at him for a moment before he started to flick through the pages of the notebook. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Ryan finally found the right page.

He read through it and then turned to Gavin with a smile.

“Seems like whatever they did didn’t work. No creeper powers for that guy.”

Gavin slumped in relief. He didn’t have to worry about being connected to that man in any way. He wasn’t part of his big, terrible plan.

"What do we do now, then?" Gavin asked them. They weren’t going to sit in that arena forever.

"Well, I think it's killing Geoff that he's left his chickens behind, so I think he wants us to go back and get them for him, amongst other things."

"Which I'm sure will be fun," Jeremy mumbled.

"How are we supposed to bring back all those chickens without him?"

"Don't ask, Michael. Geoff seems to think it'll be easy, but that's because they actually listen to him." Ryan laughed. "But that can wait a bit longer, for now I think we should just _rest_. Relax, eat, sleep, whatever. I'm sure those palace beds are like _heaven_."

"I can attest to that. Even the beds in the barracks were soft." Jeremy sat back as he thought about it. "But I'm starving right now, want to go get something to eat? The festival food is the best."

"That sounds _amazing_." Michael got up and stretched, his joints popping.

The others got up after him and they all made their way back down the steps and out of the arena, leaving the destruction behind them for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's done! Thank you so much to everyone who made it this far, and to everyone who left a comment or kudos along the way! I had so much fun writing this, so it was nice to know that so many others enjoyed it too!!
> 
> I am planning on writing a sequel to this and am already coming up with ideas, but if anyone has any ideas of what I can include, let me know either in the comments or over on my tumblr: @mrmustachious !!
> 
> Thank you again for reading this, I really do hope you all enjoyed it!!!


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